And just like that, another Thanksgiving rolls around. How time flies.
Older people like me will tell you that as they get older, time seems to fly by. Technically, this is correct. The universe is expanding at an ever faster rate, so time is indeed moving faster now than when you were younger.
But human time is really measured by the number of new experiences you encounter. during a given period of physical time. When you are young, everything is new and different and time seems to last forever. As you age, there’s not that much new under the sun, so time seems to move faster.
My Thanksgiving column is the easiest to write all year because I have so much to be thankful for. We all have so much to be thankful for.
I have written dozens and dozens of Thanksgiving columns. I could just grab one from years ago. Or I could ask Chat GPT to write a Thanksgiving Day column in the style of Mississippi journalist Wyatt Emmerich. Either of these options would take just a few seconds.
But call me old school. I just can’t resist reinventing the wheel.
I could meet a complete stranger and tell that stranger my life story and make the stranger believe that I suffered a horrible series of misfortunes.
Or I could tell that stranger my life story and make him believe I was one of the luckiest persons who ever lived.
It simply would depend on which events of my life I chose to tell.
This is where the famous Bell curve comes in. The Bell curve is a graph that looks like a bell with a line in the middle. The middle line represents the average. On the left side are bad events. On the right side are good events.
Most of us hover around the middle of the Bell curve. We have experienced a mix of good and bad. That’s life.
A small number of individuals are on the far left with an abnormal concentration of bad events. A small number are on the right with an abnormal number of good events. Most people would call those people lucky, but as a Presbyterian I must refer to them as blessed.
Pray for people who suffer. Be happy for those people who are blessed. Do not covet. And remember that Romans 8:28, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”
Sometimes things that seem really awful turn out to be really good. We just didn’t see the big picture at the time. The ultimate manifestation of this is the crucification of Jesus, which at the time to those who loved him seemed to be the worst thing that could happen to the world. It actually turned out to be the best thing that happened to the world, leading to his resurrection and the salvation of mankind.
Illness, death, financial hardships, stress and all kinds of troubles can actually be blessings in disguise. That’s why Christian funeral services are often described as celebrations.
I can never stop repeating my favorite Bible verse. Romans 5:5: “We also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.”
I know this is easier said than done.
Right at this moment, I am thankful to be around my family. Perfect Ruth is 21, a senior at Ole Miss, home for Thanksgiving break. Graduation beckons. Energetic Lawrence drove in from Austin where he is transitioning from the world of school to the world of work. So many different paths to choose. Cerebral John is healthy and stable and continues on his quest to “live off the fat of the land” and acquire all the available information in the world. Ginny is still sweet and sexy with a laugh that makes me smile.
Sometimes I shake my head and laugh when I think of the amazing characters who constitute my family. How could I have ever dreamed them up? Yet God does this unceasingly, each unique and perfect in his or her own way, a world without end. Occasionally, Lawrence will say “well you created me.” I correct him immediately. “God chose me to be your father and you my son and for that I am joyful, but don’t ever think that I created you. That’s way above my pay grade.”
This Thanksgiving I’m grateful that the presidential election occurred peacefully. Not everyone is happy with the results but this is why we have elections. What a blessing to be in a free democratic republic.
People sometimes argue that political freedom is relative. That’s nonsense. Political freedom is black and white. In the United States of America you can say whatever you want to say about the mayor, the governor and the president (provided it's not a death threat) and no one will arrest you. That’s not true in many, if not most, places in the world.
We have a fair and impartial legal system. It’s not perfect, but it’s far better than the jokes of legal systems in so many countries. Russia would be a good example. Freedom is paid for in blood and I am thankful to the American patriots who paid this high price.
I am thankful for the thousands of churches that dot our landscape. Mississippi may not be the richest state materially but we are the richest spiritually. What good does it do a man to gain the whole world and lose his soul? To all the pastors, I say “thank you!”
I am thankful to all the subscribers to the Northside Sun and many other community weeklies. Local news is fighting for its life and we need every penny. I wake up every morning worried about the future of professional local news. Somebody has to do the reporting.
May you have many loved ones around you on Thanksgiving and may the turkey be tender and moist.
