Occasionally my birthday falls on Thanksgiving. Now, I don’t mind that a bit, but as a kid, at times I wasn’t too happy about it. In fact, one year, I believed it made my birthday the worst birthday ever. As a young girl, I imagined the perfect cake to be decorated with lovely flowers, velvety red roses of rich, sweet frosting, gently connected by lacing lines of green. The “Happy Birthday” would be in a curly script—perfectly penned.
Well, one year, on the day of Thanksgiving, my mom brought in my cake, the candles aglow on top. She lowered it to the table just in front of me. My eyes stared in disbelief at the design before me, composed of browns, orange, red, green, and black. My mom and dad had surprised me with a turkey cake! A turkey cake! That Thanksgiving I wasn’t giving thanks. I can’t tell you the effort it took not to burst into tears. How could they have done that?! How could they have thought I would have enjoyed such a thing?!
I wish I could say I came to my senses soon after, realizing they had probably gone to the bakery and determined this was the perfect cake for the Thanksgiving birthday girl. Maybe they had even special ordered it. Maybe my mom couldn’t wait to see my face when she presented her clever find . . . Such considerations, however, I must confess, were years in coming. I was really sour about that day. And, I really missed out on the celebration.
As an adult, I want to look beyond the physical aspect of a gift and treasure the fact that someone gave me something to let me know I’m cared about, thought about, loved. This is something we diligently try to teach our children. Show appreciation. Say “thank you.” Take time to value the gesture. Share the giver’s joy. As we enter this season of giving, give generously and receive appreciatively. All of us can benefit from cultivating a grateful heart.
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Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts . . . And be thankful. ~Colossians 3: 15~
Well, one year, on the day of Thanksgiving, my mom brought in my cake, the candles aglow on top. She lowered it to the table just in front of me. My eyes stared in disbelief at the design before me, composed of browns, orange, red, green, and black. My mom and dad had surprised me with a turkey cake! A turkey cake! That Thanksgiving I wasn’t giving thanks. I can’t tell you the effort it took not to burst into tears. How could they have done that?! How could they have thought I would have enjoyed such a thing?!
I wish I could say I came to my senses soon after, realizing they had probably gone to the bakery and determined this was the perfect cake for the Thanksgiving birthday girl. Maybe they had even special ordered it. Maybe my mom couldn’t wait to see my face when she presented her clever find . . . Such considerations, however, I must confess, were years in coming. I was really sour about that day. And, I really missed out on the celebration.
As an adult, I want to look beyond the physical aspect of a gift and treasure the fact that someone gave me something to let me know I’m cared about, thought about, loved. This is something we diligently try to teach our children. Show appreciation. Say “thank you.” Take time to value the gesture. Share the giver’s joy. As we enter this season of giving, give generously and receive appreciatively. All of us can benefit from cultivating a grateful heart.
CTL
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts . . . And be thankful. ~Colossians 3: 15~
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