Excess

Here's something off-topic, but it struck me anyway.

Last week during the lead-up to Thanksgiving, I could not watch a news show or listen to the radio without hearing talk of the big Thanksgiving feast, or someone's plans to "wear the stretchy pants" to allow for more food, or how long it would take to clean all those dirty dishes after dinner. Now this week, I heard a religious broadcaster talk about how she had to recover all weekend and Monday too from Thanksgiving and her wonderful meal made by her daughter.

So I thought...what about my fellow journeyers who have no money to buy groceries for a feast? What about those people who had nowhere to go or no one to spend the day with? What about the family that hopes against all hope that their lights won't be shutoff this winter?

On Thanksgiving Day, I heard of a man who went to work the day before and was killed on his way home, leaving a wife and two daughters. That family's biggest concerns are no longer how many scoops of potatoes they can scarf down, but how to even face the day without completely losing it. My heart broke.

I enjoyed a quiet Thanksgiving; but I could not shake the gloom that I know other people in my life face on holidays, or on any day, for that matter. And I could not help but be sad that one face of Thanksgiving is about food and prosperity and football and--well--excess. I'm no innocent by-stander here; I participate in my own forms of excess too. I simply am thankful for a new perspective this holiday season.