Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man. —Luke 2:52 (ESV)
As a lifelong cook, I’ve always loved Thanksgiving. At age 12, I proudly took over from Dad the cooking of our meal: turkey with bread stuffing, mashed potatoes, giblet gravy, cranberry-orangeapple-walnut relish, a gratin of little onions, marshmallow yams, rolls and pies.
My Thanksgiving prayer is one I pray all year—that my girls will grow up to love others and God.
Cooking bored the girls as kids, but when they turned 12, I gave them each a task: Charlotte the stuffing and Lulu the cranberry relish. As they got older, they took charge of the pies, first deciding what kinds but eventually weaving dough lattices and making leaf-shaped decorations gritty with sugar sparkles. We even bought half-size pans so the girls could make six different pies and not have any of them go uneaten.
One year, only Lulu came home. Charlotte had gotten a puppy and immediately arranged her days around Milo’s nap times and meals. In mid-November, she texted she couldn’t leave Milo, so she wasn’t coming home.
Thanksgiving with just Lulu was enjoyable but not the same. Lulu made her cranberry relish—opting for less sugar, a good move—but I made everything else. This is how it will be now, I lamented. The girls off somewhere, cooking their own Thanksgiving meals.
Then I realized that too would answer my Thanksgiving prayer: my girls grown up, nurturing others.
Thank you, Father, for making us in your image, so we can grow, love and become more like you.
Walking in Grace (formerly Daily Guideposts) is a book of uplifting devotions. To order the 2024 edition, visit shopguideposts.org/wig24, write to Guideposts, P.O. Box 5815, Harlan, IA 51593-1315 or call (800) 932-2145. The book is available in a hardcover version for $16.95 or in a softcover large-print version for $17.95, plus shipping and processing.
