Thoughts on Thanksgiving Food

This evening I had the graced opportunity to attend a Thanksgiving sharing on food following "A Nun's Life" nightly prayer podcast. I made the prayer time a few times last week and knowing that tonight's session would include this e-social gathering afterwards I spent some time reflecting on "food" in relation to the Thanksgiving holiday. Since I did not bring a recipe to share, I offered the following thoughts as the fruits of my own contemplation (the reference to the "lemon delicious" refers to a yummy dessert that was shared):

I have no recipe to share tonight so I'd like to offer the fruit of my meditation in preparation for this gathering here. I just want to share a thought on the significance of special foods on Thanksgiving. Whether it's my grandmother's stuffing recipe or the plate of nuts and veggies and dips that keep us occupied while the meal is cooking or the lemon delicious we are salivating over here, I think what the food represents is the deliciousness of the relationships that are important to us, the relationships for which we express gratitude in a tangible way on Thanksgiving whether we are near or far from family, friends, or loved ones, whether they are still with us or in the next chapter of life. The food which we rightly celebrate in honoring the bountiful harvest with which God has blessed us is an emblem or symbol also of the people with whom God blesses us.