A Time for Thanks

Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Psalms 107:8-9. 

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. I Thessalonians 5:18

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 up 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)