A Table and a Thankful Heart

The day before Thanksgiving, my wife, Carol, spent time at the Harris-Teeter grocery store in Aberdeen, N.C., and The Fresh Market in nearby Pinehurst.

She purchased three pies: pecan, pumpkin and apple. She also bought four 29-oz. cans of Margaret Holmes-brand “Greer Peaches, Southern Freestone” (distributed by McCall Farms, Effingham, S.C.) and some flour.

My late mother showed Carol how to make an easy peach cobbler. Our younger daughter, Suzanne – she and her husband, Chad, teach in elementary schools – always liked that dessert and asked Carol to bring one to their home in Raleigh, N.C., for Thanksgiving. This year, our older daughter, Janelle, observed Thanksgiving at home in Taylors, S.C., with her husband, Terry.

Carol rose early on our recent overcast Thanksgiving Thursday, poured four cans of peaches and other ingredients into a large flat pan and cooked cobbler. By 10:00, I’d loaded pies, cobbler and Daisy, our 8-year-old beagle into our Buick. In the car, I prayed for protection and a good day before Carol drove us away from Southern Pines. Just enough mist was falling to need windshield wipers, and at the first stop sign, I hopped out and took a few pine needles from under one blade. We motored 75 miles to the Chad and Suzanne's rental house in downtown Raleigh, a city with a 2010-estimated population of over 394,000.

Chad’s grandparents, Don and Lois, flew on Wednesday from Chandler, Arizona, where they retired 10 years ago. Chad met them at the Raleigh airport and had them in his home by 1:00 a.m., Thursday morning. Don, 83, and Lois, 80 slept on a “blow-up bed” near Chad’s dining room table.

As a teenager, Chad and his younger brother, Jared, lived with their mother, Barbara, who now lives in Wichita, Kansas. They often visited their father, Rod, and his wife, Kathleen, in Kansas City, Mo., and spent many summers with Don and Lois in Herington, Kansas (population 2,563 in 2000). His grandfather owned an appliance business and he let Chad work for him.

Carol and I arrived before noon, and Daisy greeted her old friend Lucy, Chad and Suzanne’s long-legged Plott Hound. Suzanne had bought our meal from Whole Foods, a “natural and organic” store. We saw turkey, dressing and gravy, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, macaroni, rolls and cranberry sauce. We added our pies and cobbler.

Don and I sat in the living room and talked before eating. Don said he was a good high school shop student, learned about electricity and worked at an appliance store that sold Maytag washing machines before he served with the U.S. Army in Korea. There, he helped service motors and helped make roads during the conflict that began in 1950 after North Korea invaded South Korea and brought on a “police action” against the aggressors.

Paul, a Christian probably in his late forties, arrived to eat. He worked at a factory in California until it closed. He lost a home and moved to N.C. when a friend offered to help him find work. He ended up in a Wilmington, N.C., homeless shelter. Somewhere along the way he had a heart attack and has applied to receive “disability.” He helps with a Raleigh house for homeless men.

We gathered around a large wooden table, and Chad prayed. After our feast, Suzanne asked that each person give thanks for something. Chad began, mentioning his grandparents and his father, who made it through brain surgery last year. Don said he was thankful for his wife, Lois, who sat across from him. She said she was glad they were able to take care of each other during their retirement.

Paul’s turn came, and he said, “Well, I’m glad to be here.” Most of us smiled, realizing his heart attack could have taken him “out of here.” He then mentioned other things he was thankful for. Sitting beside Paul, I was next in line. I thought about recent times I’d whined to God about aches, pains, difficulties and situations. Carol and I had arrived at our daughter’s house in a car – not on a motor scooter such as Paul uses to get around. I’m older than Paul and have had no heart attack or lost my job. We haven’t lost our home. Humbled by Paul’s presence and thankfulness, I, with a new sense of gratefulness, voiced my thanks to God for Jesus and my wife and family.

“I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart…” (Psalm 111:1).