Gratitude Across Generations

Beloved Grace Family,

This past week we celebrated Thanksgiving—a holiday that has always marked the beginning of the season of light, hope, and gathering for me. When I was a child, Thanksgiving meant piling into the car and heading out to my Great Aunt Lelah’s farm. That old homestead, rooted in our family since the 1870s, seemed to hold the memories of generations in its fields and fence lines.

Every year the family crowded in for a traditional meal—turkey fresh from the farm, stuffing, scalloped potatoes, green bean casserole, cranberry relish, and a choice of pumpkin or apple pie. (I always chose both.) I began at the kids’ table, but as the years passed and the older generations slipped into memory, I found my place among the grown-ups—listening as they shared stories of both joy and worry, humor and hard-earned wisdom.

After the dishes were washed and put away, we bundled up and went out to “walk the land,” visiting the old cabin where Aunt Lelah’s parents first lived, checking on the cattle in the barn, and admiring the stark beauty of a Kansas November. Those memories feel fond and distant now. Aunt Lelah has been gone more than thirty years, as have so many of that generation. The farm belongs to another family. I miss the connection to that place, and to those people who shaped my early understanding of what it means to gather, remember, and give thanks.

This year, Rachel and I are celebrating Thanksgiving in our new home in Wichita—with kids home from school, friends around the table, and my mother here with us. The turkey and stuffing have been replaced with vegetarian alternatives, but the green bean casserole endures. And while we won’t be “walking the land” on the farm, we look forward to strolling through College Hill to take in the Christmas lights against the crisp evening air.

This year, I am filled with gratitude—gratitude for being called to Grace Presbyterian, gratitude for the privilege of opening our home, gratitude for abundance that I too often take for granted, and gratitude for the chance to create new memories and traditions with my children.

I hope that however you celebrated Thanksgiving, you found yourself blessed with fellowship, food, and a heart stirred by gratitude for the gifts God has placed in your life. And as we turn toward Advent, I look forward to “walking together” into this season—living with creative anticipation for the gift of God who meets us right here, in our stories old and new, with hope that breaks in.

See you in Church.

With gratitude,
Pastor Kevin