It is a cold Tuesday morning before Thanksgiving. The lake effect and the historical snow thunderstorms in the Northeast of the United States are not helping break the superglue bond between me and my bed under my warm comforters this morning. The only thing that drives me to get out of bed is my cup of steaming hot hazelnut coffee and the imagined pleasure of this warm fluid running down my throat to awaken my soul, body and spirit for the day. I put on the coffee pot in the kitchen and started brushing my teeth excitedly and expectantly hearing the trickling of the hot water through the coffee filter. With this background upbeat trickle music, I opened my curtains in the living room and let the morning sunlight hit that exact corner on my couch where I was going to snuggle up with my coffee cup. I put my Bible and devotionals and even remembered to bring my reading glasses from the bedroom and the warm throw rug to cover my cold toes! I comfortably settled in the corner soaking in the warmth of the morning sun, my legs all wrapped up in the warm, fuzzy rug with a comfortable cushion supporting my back. I slid my reading glasses behind my ears and picked up the Book and balanced it precariously on my folded knees and my hands started reaching out for my coffee cup. Lo and behold! I realized my hot hazelnut coffee was still sitting on the kitchen countertop teasingly steaming up from my favorite blue polka dot cup. Huh!!! Everything I set up on my couch was for that warm cup of coffee and I couldn’t believe I forgot to bring it to the midst of my cozy corner!
This week as we get ready to celebrate Thanksgiving, I know many of us are planning the items for the meal to be laid on the table and the ‘handpicked’ loved ones that need to be around that Thanksgiving meal. Amidst the roasted turkey and warm gravy, honey glazed ham and perfectly baked biscuits, Grandma’s mash potatoes and mom’s casseroles, fresh fruits and colorful salads in a backdrop of petty talk and laughter of friends and relatives, alongside squeaky giggles of little ones and flashing memories of loved ones, let us not forget to bring the One to the centre of the Thanksgiving table – the One who gave it all for you. The One who blessed you with all that surrounds you around the Thanksgiving table and the cozy corner of your world. As hard as it is to snuggle out of my comfort zone, I am going to get up from my cozy spot to get my cup of coffee because everything I have going on in my corner was ultimately to hold that warm cup of coffee! How about you? Amongst everything on display to distract you, are you going to reach out for The coffee cup on this Thanksgiving Day and every additional day beyond to focus on God who so graciously adds to your life in this ever-distracting world?
Happy Thanksgiving!
Related Scriptures
James 4:8 (ESV)
Come close to God, and God will come close to you
1 John 2:15-17
Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.
Romans 12:2 (ESV)
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind