The Joy of Spending Time With You

Cumberland Island, Georgia


 2 John 1:12 NIV
"I have much to write to you, but I do not want to use paper and ink. Instead, I hope to visit you and talk with you face to face, so that our joy may be complete."


As Thanksgiving approaches, families are planning for the holiday. This is my favorite time of the year.


However, I am always torn between Georgia and Ohio in November. It's difficult to make the trip to visit my family in Ohio on the short break we have, so I often attend dinner at my mother-in-law's house.


Granny is a notorious cook. She begins cooking early in the morning, and we eat promptly at 1:00 p.m.  Her macaroni and cheese and peas and butter beans over rice are to die for. Her turkey and accompanying cornbread dressing are also fantastic. We always have an abundance of desserts to eat: pecan pie, coconut cake, brownies.


There is joy when we get together around the table to share stories and relax without stress. We don't see each other as much as we would like during our busy lives throughout the year.

Thanksgiving is the first chance we have to meet to share the joys of our achievements and love as a family.


It's also a chance to bring friends to our table. Last year, friends from overseas visited me for a wedding we hosted, so they joined our family in their first Thanksgiving dinner experience. It added a new dimension to our dinner to have the bride, groom and wedding party eat Thanksgiving dinner with our family.


Thanksgiving is the time to meet in person and share joy with each other. I can hardly wait.
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Dear Lord, thank you for the joy that comes from talking in person to those we love.