Aschenbrödel and Thanksgiving

We usually cook ahead for our Thanksgiving feast. Today’s work makes Thanksgiving Day a bit more relaxed. Dorcas is the chief cook, and I am the Aschenbrödel. What’s an Aschenbrödel, you ask? Cinderella is probably the best translation, but the practical meaning is one who scrubs pots and pans, loads the dishwasher, reaches down items from high shelves, does the heavy lifting (literally), and generally helps and cleans up around the kitchen. The dressing and stuffed mushrooms are made up, in the fridge, and ready to bake tomorrow; cranberry sauce is in the fridge; and now the chief cook is working on a green bean casserole. Tomorrow is our Thanksgiving holiday in the US, and we will celebrate!

More aptly, this is the Thanksgiving season. We celebrate with a big dinner and family fellowship, but the season is more than food and fun. We pray, meditate, and worship, look back and look ahead, and give thanks to God who is the source of all blessings. So, for what do we thank God?

First and foremost, we thank God for making us His children. We thank God for family and friends, near and far. We thank God for material blessings, even while realizing that material blessings are ephemeral. Looking deeper, we thank God for spiritual blessings that last throughout this life and reach all the way into eternity. And we thank God for blessing us with you. Happy Thanksgiving!