Prompt #71: Thanksgiving
The Turkey Is an Excellent Trimming to A Grateful Heart
Food fuels the body, but gratitude renews the mind
A father’s story
Pork knockers came to the gold fields of the Rupununi to make their fortune, or at least, like my dad, to get enough money to build a house. Hundreds of miles away from shops, rations often ran out. One day, a man climbed up a green heart tree. Dejectedly, he slowly ate his last banana, wondering if he should give up his dreams. Before the skin of the banana could hit the ground, someone resting by the tree caught it with relief.
My dad found enough gold to build the house in which I was born. I grew up hearing this story as he strove to instill in us the practice of contentment and an attitude of gratitude, if only because our situation could be worse.
He believed in this biblical mandate:
Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. (1Thes.1:18, NIV).
My introduction to Thanksgiving
When I was about twelve years old, I read about the history of the Thanksgiving holiday. I loved the story of the early English survivors saved by the generosity of the American…
