Full Circle

I love this time of year! The leaves changing, the excuse to bake yummy goodies to chase off the cooler air, harvest festivals and craft shows, and the holidays (with all of the yummy seasonal foods of course). I blame my Granma for my love of seasonal baking. She always made it look so easy, no stress, and a little mess was totally worth it. Whether it was a casserole, cake, or pie, there was usually some delicious aromas emanating from her kitchen at this time of year. The variety of foods that were always there, tempting the taste buds, was kind of overwhelming – in a good but gluttonous way. Kind of like our holidays.

Depending on the calendar you have hanging from your fridge, the planner tucked into your purse, or even the app on your phone, you may have any assortment of observances or holidays (or political pushes). You may not know that October 24th is National Bologna Day and United Nations Day (coincidence?), that November 3rd doubles as Housewife’s Day and Sandwich Day, or that National Ding-a-ling Day and Poinsettia Day are on December 12th. There’s a plethora of other not-so-popular days to observe and it’s only a Google search away. I love Google (and Bing) for the ease of research, whether for calendar oddities or for recipes that pair well with those days we observe as a family.

Early on in our marriage, I decided that I would try my hand at making one such holiday meal – just like at Granma’s – but just one holiday meal. For most Christians, this usually means Easter, Thanksgiving or Christmas (as the BIG holidays observed in the year). Even non-Christians regard those as significant days. We were never really big on huge Easter dinners compared to Thanksgiving and Christmas (always a ham though, in more senses than just the food). There wasn’t even a hesitation on my part for which holiday meal I would take on: it would be Thanksgiving. Decision made; panic officially set in.

What was I thinking? I was going to make an entire Thanksgiving meal? The most experience I’d had with turkey was making a cold-cut sandwich (not just on November 3rd). How was I supposed to make an entire turkey? And the side dishes like sweet potato casserole, squash casserole, baked macaroni & cheese, and green bean casserole (just to name a few options) ended up on the menu. Then our daughter, Sara (she was 8), informed us that she didn’t like turkey and could we please have ham? What about the desserts? Let’s have pie; I hate pie – we always had Granma’s chocolate cake, or maybe carrot cake. Make apple cake! What kind of pie? There’s apple, cherry, ooh – peach… what about pumpkin? STOP!!!!

The whole reason I had decided to only do one holiday meal was to keep stress down, and it was seriously backfiring. What did I do? I cheated. No, I didn’t order a Thanksgiving spread from the local grocery store (it did cross my mind and I would not think less of you if this was your solution). Instead, I bought one of the Jennie-O turkeys that are pre-seasoned and “Freezer to Oven in 5 minutes.” I fell in love at first bite. The ham only had to be heated and the included glaze spread over it. I prepared the casseroles the day before, so all I had to do was pop them in the oven (I chose the ones that had similar oven temps so I could bake them together). As for the desserts, I bought a bakery fresh pumpkin pie, had a frozen Dutch apple pie to warm up in the oven, and I made my Granma’s chocolate cake (I was a bit homesick).

Thanksgiving Day didn’t have me in the kitchen hardly at all – just to whip up some mashed potatoes and heat the gravy (included with the Jennie-O turkey), and we had leftovers out the whazoo! Holidays, regardless of which one, are not supposed to be stress-inducers. Holidays are supposed to be “a day of festivity where no work is done” or “a special place where you spend time being festive when no work is done” depending on whether it’s being used as a noun or a verb. Granted, we do still have to eat, but I think we’ve not only allowed our holidays to be taken over by the commercial industry, but they’ve also been hijacked by standards that are not necessary.

Most Americans are familiar with Norman Rockwell. We hear the name and there are several images that come to mind pretty quickly. One of an old-timey soda shops with the bar stools occupied by a policeman and the other has a runaway. Another with a little boy holding a Santa suit and fake beard in front of a dresser (titled The Discovery). Who hasn’t at least smirked at the little boy examining the credentials framed on the wall while the doctor in the background is readying a needle for a vaccine? But one of the most popular of Mr. Rockwell’s works is the family meal. Oddly enough, it’s titled “Freedom from Want.”

With social media, it’s incredibly easy to jump to incorrect conclusions in what we see. I see pictures of families, color and pattern coordinated, all with big, genuine-looking smiles, hair with the professional-style look, and all physically fit and toned. I see multiple vacations a year, themed birthday parties, talented dancers, strong and gifted athletes, honor roll, special achievements and awards, new cars, new homes, and generally everything looking picture-perfect beautiful. I have to remind myself time and time again that those pictures are just moments, but not always the everyday reality. It still brings around the question: do I have “Freedom from Want”?

It’s very expensive to travel outside of Alaska, so our vacations are typically day trips or staycations. Our kids get so excited, jump up and down cheering, when we get a hotel room because that means swimming in the indoor pool. The last time I left Alaska was for Granma’s funeral and that was two years ago. We’ve never had our family professionally photographed, birthday parties usually involve McDonald’s Play Place or a gathering around our dining room table, did you read about Gracie’s dancing? Or Caleb’s athletic accomplishments? I’ve never owned a brand-new car, my home was built in 1988, my family is usually only coordinated in our chaos, and it seems that our metabolisms have gone on strike.

“It is not happy people who are thankful, it is thankful people who are happy.” My husband and I noticed at the end of 2018 that gratitude was something we needed to put more emphasis on, so we implemented a couple new practices near the beginning of 2019. In the evenings, we would write down, on a post-it, something(s) we were thankful for. We would fold the paper up and toss it into a bucket that resides on top of our pantry. We plan to go back and read these later on. The other focus had to do with our prayers. Instead of asking God to do something for us (hasn’t He done everything already?), we would spend time thanking Him: for school, work, food, blankets, pillows, clean water, clothes, our house, the sun, the rain, our pets, and different family members and friends (just to name a few – the kids gets really creative).

We’ve seen great results in the overall countenance of each of us, from the kids to the adults, and this got me digging in scripture regarding thankfulness, gratitude, and praise. Psalm 9:1 “I will praise you, O Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonders.” (NIV) David is saying that he will praise God and tell others about all He’s done. Interesting… I found something similar in II Corinthians 4:15 and II Corinthians 9:11. We, as benefactors of God’s goodness, have been blessed and enriched and our thanksgiving (to God) will bring glory to God.

Let’s make sure we’re all there: God sacrificed His one and only Son, giving us salvation for every area of our lives, bestowing upon the righteous (hint: we’re the righteousness of God through our faith in Jesus) every manner of blessings beyond what we can imagine, and when we give thanks it all points back to God, giving Him glory. My brother-in-law made an observation about me almost a year ago: I have a heart for praise and worship. At first I brushed it off, but it did get me paying attention to what praise and worship does (at least for me). When I feel myself getting overwhelmed with trivial things (household chores, children’s noise levels, things I cannot change, etc.) I throw on the praise and worship and my focus changes. I go from a “poor me” to a “You poured into me!”

When I’m reminded of all that I have, I can see so many ways in which I can give. Philemon verse 6 “I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ.” (NIV) This is coming full circle, isn’t it? As we receive from God, we share through our thanksgiving; being filled with gratitude, we’re able to see more and more of His goodness. As we see it, we’re able to receive it, and we’re able to share it.

Let’s go into this holiday season, thankful for the harvest (and candy for many), thankful for our storehouses being full to overflowing, and thankful for the birth of our Savior. As you give thanks, be prepared for His glory to shine on your face, people to notice and want what you have, and for our praise and thanksgiving to come full circle… over and over and over and over… again.

Recipe notes: Both can be made gluten free. I add 1/8 tsp nutmeg to both the Sweet Potato Casserole and the topping. Bread crumbs can be substituted for the Ritz crackers. If preparing casseroles the day before and storing in the refrigerator, be sure to bring to room temp before putting in the oven (approx. 1-2 hours)