Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. I Thessalonians 5:18
Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love
and his wonderful deeds for mankind, for he satisfies the thirsty, and fills
the hungry with good things. Psalms 107:8-9
Thanksgiving is a special holiday for me...both happy and
sad! Throughout my childhood, my mom and dad invited anybody who was alone and
had no place to go to come over for Thanksgiving. We had old friends, new
friends, and during the war, Mom even invited some soldiers from Offutt Air
Force Base to join us. My mom was a wonderful cook. One unusual specialty she
made was cranberry ice, and her pies and candied sweet potatoes were great,
too.
On Thanksgiving 1967, we headed to Omaha. I had a large
amount of food for the dinner, and we were looking ahead to a great day. As we
went up onto the front porch, I saw four track marks, as if something had been
wheeled off the porch. As we entered the house, my uncle Clyde was standing in
the dining room. He looked just like my dad, but he was my uncle. It was
frightening.
It turns out that my dad had already died, and had been
taken away. My mother had to deal with all of this, without my help, which was
upsetting. But we picked ourselves up, fixed a nice turkey dinner, cleaned up
the kitchen, and then went to the mortuary to plan my dad’s service.
We had the service that weekend. It was sad coming back to
Lincoln, knowing he was gone, but it was comforting to know he hadn’t had to
suffer a long time, and hopefully we would see him again.
Prayer: Dear Lord, Thank you for the life of a good man,
Gerald Drew. He was a true Christian gentleman, and we were so thankful he had
a long life. Thank you for the influence he had on his grandsons. They will
always remember his humor, and the fun they had together. Amen
Gerry Draney
(reprinted from 2017)
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