"We gather together"

A few Thanksgiving thoughts & memories

“We gather together to ask the Lord's blessing” is the opening lyric of the Christian hymn associated with Thanksgiving. Originally a Dutch patriotic song dating back to the 16^th Century (which might explain the references of doing battle), it was translated into English and from there spread around the world with a more benign intent. Of course, history tells us that Christian missionaries of that era were not always benign in their conversion methods—sometimes usually military might as a back-up plan.

But on this day we’ll embrace the ideal, as stated in a website I checked out, which noted the song’s “lyrics celebrate the fellowship of gathering together in praising the Lord and asking for His blessings. This Christian hymn rejoices in the deliverance from evil and suffering in God's grace, giving thanks to God Almighty!”

Time spent with family and friends is usually a blessing—at least it has been for me. The traditions and rituals of the holiday, handed down from one generation to the next, coupled with the changes that inevitably occur as we move forward from one year to the next, are part of its special flavor.

A bounty of food, with turkey being the usual star of the show, remains the focus. But nowadays there are the parades seen on TV, the steady diet of football games, movie debuts at the theaters, and the anticipation of Black Friday sales that launch the Christmas shopping season.

A far cry from when a family might “ride over the river and through the snow, to grandmother’s house” in a horse-and-sleigh. Back in the day when I was a youngster (meaning the 1950s and early ‘60s), this means of transportation was a distant memory. But it was the
Grandparent Horton’s place we usually went for our gathering. It included two other families along with ours—a pair of aunts and uncles and our cousins—a total of 18.

That was too many to fit at the table set up in the dining room, so four or five of us older cousins ate at the kids table in the back room. This latter location had a washer and dryer as well as a sink. While it would not have made the pages of Better Homes & Gardens, the lack of high fashion was more than compensated for by our being free from parental observation. Not that our respective mothers didn’t have an ear open in the other room monitoring our behavior.

For a goodly number of years, my wife Dawn and I hosted our family gathering which for a while had a sizable number of attendees. However, no longer being in proximity and with the kids and grandchildren having gotten older, and there now being young great-grandchildren, plus their in-laws hosting dinners, the situation has become more fluid.

This year we’re having breakfast with one kid and his crew and then traveling to the home of another kid and having dinner with her small branch of the family. Dawn’s brother and his wife will be there as well—seven adults and one baby.

A pair of small roasting chickens we purchased at the Fair 4-H Auction this summer will serve as the main course, coupled with dressing, mashed potatoes & gravy, baked beans, squash, a small ham, and rolls…plus my world-famous green bean casserole which I make from a recipe borrowed from Campbell’s Soup. For dessert there are the choices of pumpkin, cherry, or pecan pies. Going overboard with food is, after all, an honored Thanksgiving tradition.

I anticipate that there’ll be a few leftovers.

We’ll see if this year’s version of the Detroit Lions can win their home game. There’ll be conversation, memories shared, a chance to relax, and “oh, yes” the opportunity to ask the Lord’s blessings…in our own lives and for our family and friends, the community we call home, and this nation and the larger world. God knows, we can use them.

I offer these thoughts and memories with a caveat, mindful that amid the ‘plenty’ there are too many people (near and far) who face food insecurity, suffer from hunger, and will not have a place to celebrate the holiday with loved ones. To them and their given situations, we extend our prayers as well as a commitment to do what we can to alleviate such conditions.

That said, my best wishes to you and yours on this Thanksgiving.

Steve Horton is a mid-Michigan journalist & commentator.