The Blessing Unsaid 11/17/2024

By: Jennifer Richardson Holt

Maybe it is the time of year.  Have you ever had those moments when you were doing something simple, maybe a routine activity and you are suddenly struck by how overwhelmingly blessed you are? Is that just me?  I have had several moments like this lately when I was almost reduced to tears.  One time I was simply heading into work and the way the sunlight was hitting the mist coming up from the ground just did something different to me. Now, don’t get me wrong, I always appreciate random beautiful scenes of nature, but this time I wasn’t just awed by the beauty as much as it seemed to be shouting to me how good I have it. The feeling was so strong that I have to say I was a bit shocked by its sudden onset.  Like I said, perhaps it being the Thankful season maybe I looked at the average things with new eyes.

When this feeling hit me again, it felt more appropriate. As I turned the curve in my somewhat long driveway and was driving up the gentle slope to my house sitting on its little knoll a lump came to my throat. How blessed am I to have this lovely piece of property and a lovely home upon it?  I take it for granted. I complain about the angles of the walls that are, well not so much odd as, unique. But I love my home and how many are in a place that perhaps is an in between, or an, until we can do something better, or even a maybe one day we’ll have something nicer type of scenario. But here I am with endless laundry which means we have ample (if not excessive, as I am sure my husband would say) clothing.  My dishwasher which is awaiting emptying so it can almost immediately be refilled with dishes from no lack of food.

Speaking of food, something I ponder a fair amount this time of year, is menu planning. Food is so pivotal this time of year and you really want to pull off not only delicious but also those dishes that evoke the tradition and memories of the season. Already, even well over a month in advance, my mother and I have begun planning which delicacies our Christmas dinner will contain.  Actually, we call the meal lupper, which is a the same thing as brunch just between the latter two meals of the day instead of between the first, but that is not particularly necessary to what I am saying, I just wanted you to know I can in fact spell because the autocorrection on this screen is very disgusted with the name I used for the meal. 

How jaded am I that we go to such effort to menu plan our wonderful food? And we plan multiple meals with no regard, for the most part, to cost or availability. If it is something we want, we will find the ingredients to make it or we will find someone who will make it for us. In the grand scheme of things, what luxurious life do I lead that such things are an option? I am not simply attempting to be sure my family is fed; I am extravagantly trying to create a festive dining experience while I know there are people who simply hope to eat. While I am sighing after far too many forkfuls of decadent foods, may that sigh remind me of how good I have it. I hope, when I look at my plate and see it filled with the caloric equivalent to joy, that a tear comes to my eye and that I do not hesitate to be grateful.

Here is a surprising moment, now that I think about it. We just had an election here in my country.  While many moan and groan or gripe and complain both before, during and after it, and yes, I confess I was happy to have it over with, but whether you like the outcome or not, how fortunate are we to live in a country where we actually get to choose?  I have seen friends from places where freedom is not the norm encourage us to revel in how glorious it is that we live in a place where we can not only choose our leaders, but to even be free to express our opinions about said leaders. There are places where disagreement or disapproval of the powers that be is not even a thought to be entertained, much less a course of action to take.  We, as a nation tend to be more than happy to whine than to actually be thankful that our opinion won’t land us in prison or worse. And yes, this is me.  I am going to try to think before I grumble (or at least when I catch myself starting) from now on and hopefully I may be able to negate a bit it and realize a gift horse as I look it in the mouth.

It was just a summation of little things.  It was a beautiful morning commute.  It was going up the driveway of my cozy home.  Even now, it’s a house full of things that I see every day but don’t notice.  It’s a family that I embrace but to whom I probably don’t always truly exemplify love and gratitude. It is planning special occasions with family, and, as a matter of fact, my husband just texted me telling me of another newly planned family gathering centered around a meal.  So, if you will excuse me, I have yet another menu to plan and I promise to try my best to make sure gratitude is a main ingredient in all of it. It’s funny really, we call the prayer we say before a meal “Saying the Blessing”.  Maybe we need to focus more on being grateful for the blessings that are already heaped upon is in servings larger than any of us deserve.