THANKSGIVING UNDER THE MOUNTAIN
by Steve Wardrip
She came down the mountainside after a long hard day at work. Exhausted and fatigued, she plodded on her way until she could slow down and rest. Her task complete, she had eased the burden of supplying the feast. She was the provider for her family and she was good at it. This year, they would have a Thanksgiving Dinner. Superwoman, Mom, wife, husband and Dad, Granny and Grandpa and Aunts and Uncles and Cousins to all. Friends to all they are passionate about. To remember the origin of the Holiday is the way we will teach today. It is the way we will learn this year.
A single parent at Thanksgiving is a beautiful thing to behold. Let’s huddle up and just be thankful for all we had all year and thankful for hopeful blessings in the coming year.
The car had quit working over a year ago an she had a scooter until it got stolen. A bicycle that hurt too much to ride, so she walked to the floormat factory on the mountain which was actually a steep hill for about one hundred yards. She would climb up in the morning and go down in the afternoon. A store was half way up, a market and a bus stop. She carried her groceries on her back. She had a smile on her face when she sat them down. She was a proud single parent bringing home Thanksgiving dinner for her and her four children, her parents, her brother and sisters and all their children and some people who came temporarily with them. Visitors and neighbors were welcome at the first feast they called it. The two had been chatting for two years online and had become very close. He talked her into having a feast there like we have in America. It is fun. Her kids loved this invisible Papa who sent them a check every month. He did it as a charity and God only knows if it’s spent on the kids. Mama seems so nice and good online, always talking God’s love. She says it’s not the money, but love that is important. The children come first and eat first. Medicine is always found for them and a budget is strictly adhered to. Food, home, church, school, all priorities. Children and elders come first and Mama and Papa provide.
Glad to help, thankful to be a help and thankful for the opportunity to help. Together far around the world, they would have their Thanksgiving feast, but not really. The American Holiday is not celebrated there, so the money is spent on the staple food and drink that is required for everyday living. Rice and bottled water. Fruits, veggies and some dried fish. Chickens provide eggs and a neighboring market has meats and dairy. Stock cans contain fish, meat, vegetables, fruits and various sauces and soups. This feast will be a very special feast, perhaps a first.
In 1863, in the United States of America, President Abraham Lincoln declared Thanksgiving Day, the fourth Thursday of November, a national holiday. The special day is reserved for giving thanks for the many blessings you have received during the past year and grateful for the blessings yet to come in the new year.
In real life, today, a single parent mother prepares a feast of rice, vegetables, fruit and a little meat, complete with delicious drinks and desserts, a beautiful fare, fit for a king. God is pleased and accepts thanks from them.
