Prayer — It’s Not Just For Men Anymore!

It has been a beautifully long time since I have opted to type, however, a dear sweet wonderful friend said that she missed my words.  So strange that shortly before she told me that, I had already resolved to blog this fine evening, er morning….whatev.

So…for my Thanksgiving, my dad was out of town visiting his grandchildren and other two daughters and family; my uncle, who is now a truck driver was on the north side of Chicago; and my oldest cousin just had a baby that I didn’t know about.  Would I call it fairly normal?  Yes, for a girl who is getting out of touch with her own family.

I guess when I first started thinking about this blog, I was thinking about how great my Thanksgiving was.  I am now beginning to wonder what is changing and how.  So, the significance of my uncle not being at Thanksgiving Dinner?  He normally cuts the turkey.  It would seem that no one else is really familiar with cutting poultry products in our family.  My cousin wanted to step up but he was definitely under duress.  My other uncle simply fried a turkey, however, he didn’t want to be responsible for actually cutting it up.  He ended up doing the carving, however, he wasn’t very confident about his skill and well…we have interesting chunks of turkey from this year’s dinner.  The significance of my cousin having her 5th child and me not knowing about it?  Well, the last time I asked my cousin, she said that she wasn’t pregnant.  Apparently, I had asked her over a year and I believe that is last time I saw her. 

Oh, my title.  Duh!  So, the other really large portion of Thanksgiving with my family is the time that we spend around the table singing songs of God and thanks, and then going around the circle and saying what we are thankful for.  Normally, we think up what we are thankful for and then have a long family prayer that traditionally is very good and very telling of our year together as a family.  Well, my uncle (the new truck driver) normally gives the family prayer every year; summarizing our struggles, our happiness, and our eagerness for a new year of hope and growth in the Lord. 

My aunt:  The main cook, the keeper of grandma’s house in her old age, and the only one in her clan that never got married.  Oh, that’s another story.  Anyways, my aunt had prepared most of the food, and it was getting cold.  In the rush of it all, with hungry people and tired feet, she turned to me and said, “Jenny, you pray over the meal today”.  You seriously could have knocked me over with one of my mother’s sweet potato spears.  What would I pray for, what could I say that was going to be so great that I would hear “yes, Lord’s” and “mmhmm” from my relatives lips?  Not only that, but for some reason, I figured that the family prayers would only be reserved for the men of the family.  Why me? 

While I do not remember my exact prayer, I do remember my mother and my grandmother (on her 89th birthday) being very proud of me for stepping up in a way that I never had before.  I was definitely nervous, but I simple prayed about what I was thankful for and that was my family.  (The crowd manages an “awwwwww”).

A new guest at Thanksgiving this year, my little brother’s girlfriend.  I have a picture of some of the festivities below, however, I never thought that I would meet my brother’s girlfriend for the first time at Thanksgiving dinner being that he has dated her for about 3 years….ah well.  Perhaps we shall spend more time together.

In the meantime, I hope that you enjoy the rest of your turkey, LOTS AND LOTS of cranberry sauce, and start thinking about all the presents you are getting me for my birthday and Christmas.

I LOVE YOU.