“Always find something to be thankful for, even in the hard
times." ~ 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
With the 1927 harvest complete,
Gordon gathered his children for one final chore. He wanted them to grasp the richness of God’s
providence. Only after they inventoried everything,
would they sit down to the Thanksgiving feast their mother had prepared.
The new year had started off well: they had leftover hay,
lots of seed, a cow, 2 pigs, 4 chickens and a turkey. They also had 2 barrels of apples, bins of
beets and carrots packed in sand, and plenty of sacked potatoes as well as
peas, corn, and a shelf full of jellies and other preserves. He even had a little money set aside to buy a
hay loader - a machine most farmers only dreamed of owning.
When Gordon’s wife was doing her washing, he took his turn
over the washboard and asked his wife to take a break. “You spend more time doing the wash than
sleeping,” he said fondly. Maybe we
should break down and get electricity?”
Although elated at the idea, her eyes teared as she thought of the hay
loader that would get postponed.
So, the electrical line went up their lane that spring. Although nothing fancy, they bought a washing
machine and lightbulbs that dangled from several ceilings. No more oil lamps to fill, wicks to cut, or
chimneys to scrub. The lamps got
relegated to the attic.
Electricity was almost the last good thing that happened to
them in 1928. Just as their crops were
starting to sprout, the rains beat them into the soil. Vegetables rotted in the mud. They sold all their livestock to make ends
meet. Only a patch of turnips managed to
weather the storms.
As Thanksgiving approached, Gordon’s wife suggested they skip
Thanksgiving: “We haven’t even got a turkey left.”
But that morning, Gordon shot a jackrabbit and asked his
wife to cook it. She did so reluctantly
as its meat would be gamey and tough. When
it was finally ready along with some of the turnips, the children refused to
eat.
Gordon got up from the table and went up to the attic, got
an oil lamp, took it back to the table, and lit it. He told the kids to turn out the electric
lights.
With only the light from the lamp again, they could hardly
believe that it’d been that dark before.
They wondered how they’d ever seen anything without electric light bulbs.
Gordon blessed the food.
As everyone ate in the dimness of an old oil lamp, they enjoyed a lovely
meal together. The jackrabbit tasted
like turkey; the turnips were the mildest anyone could recall.
Friends, to express gratitude is gracious, to show
gratitude is generous, but to live with gratitude forever in your heart
is to touch heaven.
Oh, God, when I have food help me remember
the hungry; when I have work, help me remember the jobless; when I have a warm
home, help me remember the homeless; and when I am without pain, remind me of those
who suffer. Amen
