Gathered around the table for thanksgiving meal with family and we always begin with prayer. We don’t just pray before our thanksgiving meal but for all of our meals each day. YES, we are those people who pray before we eat in a restaurant!

When we stop to pray, whether it’s for a meal or just because, it is important for us to remember to pray for others. It’s necessary for us to remember to not only pray for our own good but for the good of others as well.

I was reminded to pray for the good of others the other day when I spent some time with a couple whose family doesn’t live in town and their only daughter is in foster care. They wished me a happy thanksgiving and I asked them what their plans, to which they responded, no plans. It will be a typical Thursday for them.

This year I am especially mindful of those who don’t get to celebrate the holidays as I do. Thanksgiving is the holiday where I get to gather with my parents and my in-laws, my brother, my sister-in-laws and everyone in my immediate family. This is the only day when we get to celebrate a holiday - one time.

Our celebration of Thanksgiving for the last 21 years has also been when we celebrate the birthday of my youngest daughter. The year she was born, she was a scheduled induction on the Monday before Thanksgiving. Instead of coming home from the hospital, I was taken to my parents house where the Thanksgiving meal would be celebrated. It stared the tradition of both families to come together to celebrate our blessings!