A Simple Thanksgiving for Under $75.00
Given the state of things, I wanted to provide a grocery list of items for a simple thanksgiving meal. (It’s listed at the bottom of this blog post.) Does this have all the trimmings? No. Is it 100% a traditional feast? It has the main items and our family’s take on the essentials.
When times are tough its more of a matter of simplicity, warmth of the home and who is around the table that counts. Does it matter if the place settings look like a Martha Stewart magazine? No. Is it nice? Yes!!
But family dinners are about the people and memories we make. Are a lot of things out of our natural control right now? Yes, they are. Lots of things seem unfair too!! Ends not meeting like they use to. Late payments trying to make things work for yet one more month. Trying your best to make memories on a shoestring budget for little eyes looking up to you when you’re mustering up enough courage just to make it through another day worrying about what you forgot is going to clear the bank account.
I get it. I pray and hope things change soon for the sake of our entire country.
But if they don’t … we have got to refashion our idea of community and come back together in real fellowship.
Let’s try to change our perspective of, “this sucks” or “it’s not going to be like it was this year with all the trimmings” to perhaps instead in our humblest of seasons we can say … it’s just ok.
It’s ok if it’s a thinner dressed table. It’s ok if it doesn’t look as traditional. It’s ok to say no to events we can’t afford. And I am going to make the most of these holidays with what I have.
How can we bless our neighbors? How can we show our children a humble meaning of things and still pull off a wonderful meal.
Last year was a year that hit me hard. My truck, and only vehicle, kept breaking. My daughter’s only barrel horse cost me a vet bill. My electric bill was the highest I had ever seen because I was slammed with new delivery fees that were more than my electrical usages. And money wasn’t being sent to help cover all the things that needed to be covered. I couldn’t afford things like I could. I was scrambling to get feed, hay, and pay things on time. I was crumbling under the weight and it was heavy.
But.
I had a wonderful friends and partner that came in and said I’ll cover this. You can borrow my extra vehicle. I just sent you $ to help you get to the end of the month. And a ton of encouragement that it was going to be ok.
Be encouraged that things will eventually be alright, even if they aren’t right now.
Isaiah 41:10 10 So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
