1-800-4GRATITUDE

I eat my fill of [turkey] and gravy; I smack my lips. It’s time to shout praises! If I’m sleepless at midnight, I spend the hours in grateful reflection. – Psalm 63:5-6 (MSG) 

Every Thanksgiving, the Butterball Turkey Helpline receives thousands of calls from panicked home cooks. Questions about internal temperature (175º) or if you can thaw a turkey in the dryer (no). They’re the ones to call.  

But who do we call for all the other aspects of Thanksgiving that can make it hard to feel grateful? 

What if you’re not quite thawed out, not prepared to meet your cousin’s boyfriend or hear your uncle’s fascinating theories? What if you haven’t stocked up on courage to try your sister’s new questionable casserole? Or if Grandma’s not there with her old signature dish? Or your brother? Or the other empty chairs? Alongside all the joy of gathering and feasting, holidays are a cornucopia of mixed emotions smothered in expectations. Gratitude can get buried under all that mess. 

Maybe we need a Gratitude Helpline for when our stomachs are full but our hearts feel empty. Someone to dish out heaping spoonfuls of grace when there’s too much other stuff on our plates, bring a serving of inner peace for our sleepless midnight snack. 

Maybe God is on the other end of that line. Ready to answer, toll-free, day or night, year-round, never a busy signal. Clarity, healing, patience, forgiveness, compassion—God knows the not-so-secret ingredients in the recipe for gratitude. 

Need turkey help? Call Butterball.  

For everything else, call God.  

Prayer
We give thanks for your steadfast presence that keeps us coming back for seconds, O God, with leftovers to sustain us for days. Amen.

About the Author
Chris Mereschuk (He/Him) is an Unsettled Pastor based in Northampton, MA. He is the Founder of RevCJM, LLC Consulting & Coaching, specializing in vitality, transformation, and Legacy.