Did I Forget the Turkey Baster?

[Jesus said,] “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly [Mother] feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by worrying can add a single hour to your span of life?” – Matthew 6:25-27 (NRSV) 

In my family, Thanksgiving is serious business. The cooking plan takes several days to execute. Desserts, mains, sides, oven times, cooktop assignments, roasted vs fried, spatchcocked vs confit. There are spreadsheets. Plural. 

All those details are enough to get a person’s head spinning with worry. What if I forget heavy cream, will the store be open? Have we balanced the gluten-free with the vegetarian options? Oh gosh, what about gluten-free vegetarians? Did I ever even own a turkey baster to begin with? So easily, I find myself missing the forest for the trees. By attending to the spreadsheets, I forget to be present for the feast.   

Don’t get me wrong, the details are important. I like a nicely strained gravy as much as the next person. But I would rather eat a sandwich with my loved ones than a seven-course meal all alone. And all of my worrying over place settings and cooking times? That won’t lengthen the time I have with my loved ones by even an hour. 

Prayer
God of the banquet table and the quickly scarfed-down lunch, bless us today with that most glorious gift of the day, one another.

About the Author
Rev. John Edgerton is Senior Minister and CEO of Old South Church in Boston. He is the 21st Senior minister in the congregation’s over 350 year history.