"The turkey is in the oven, filling the air with the
fragrance of anticipation, and my heart is glad. The
pies are cooling on the rack, overflowing with the
fruits of the earth, and my heart is full.
Conversation, companionship, and conviviality
transform the rooms of this beloved home, and my
heart is at peace.
Soon dear ones family and cherished friends will
gather at the table to rejoice in our bounty of
blessings, and with us lift up their hearts in
thanksgiving. As the table is set, my heart
gratefully remembers the legacy of love and tradition
represented in the talismans of freshly laundered
linens, sparkling crystal, and gleaming china. The
silver shines, the candles glow, the flowers delight
us with their beauty.
This is good. This is very good. Let us hold fast to
this authentic moment of Simple Abundance. Let us
cherished this feeling of complete contentment. Let
us rejoice and praise the Giver of all good. The
English novelist Thomas Hardy believed that the days
of declining autumn created an inner season in which
we could live "in spiritual altitudes more nearly
approaching ecstasy" than at any other time of the
year. Let us exult in our souls' ecstatic accord.
Come, my thankful sisters, come. Offer grace for the
bounty of goodness. Raise the song of harvest home,
the glass of good cheer, the heart of overflowing
joy. We have so much for which to be thankful. So
much about which to smile, so much to share. So much,
that in season of plenty, we can embrace the season
of relinquishment. All we have is all we need.
O beloved Spirit, truly you have given us so much, an
extravagance of riches. Give us, we pray, one thing
more. The gift of grateful hearts. Hearts that will
not forget what You have done."