Friendsgiving

This is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.

“Who wants more brisket or turkey? We’ve got plenty!” Aaron’s voice boomed through our house as he checked our slightly unorthodox Friendsgiving buffet line filled with food from around the world. A few years ago, we started hosting a pre-Thanksgiving “Friendsgiving” with friends and friends of friends—many of whom didn’t grow up celebrating Thanksgiving in their culture.

As we compared notes on the cranberries and pickled herring being passed around, our rowdy, hilarious conversation about what foods were “required” for Thanksgiving to be Thanksgiving was filled with loud groans over lutefisk and questions about lefse—those with Norwegian heritage tried to convince the rest of us that both were necessary. I love exploring culture through food, and hosting a Friendsgiving is a beautiful way to celebrate those things that make us wonderfully unique and the common threads that pull us into community.

As we pulled off the cardboard hearts hanging on my makeshift Gratitude Tree (a branch cut from my lilac hedge and shoved into a large vase), a hush fell over the crowd. I read what each of us had written earlier when I’d handed out pens and hearts, tasking everyone with listing or drawing (for the young children among us) three things we were grateful for. Our lists were remarkably consistent: friends, health, a safe home, pursuit of dreams, favorite toys, freedom—it was impossible to tell our items apart, no matter how long we’d lived in this country and which country held our citizenship.

The overwhelming similarity in our lists is a lesson I’ve not forgotten and one I’ve gratefully clung to when my country feels torn apart by differences. Sometimes we can start to think that our particular group (political, denominational, cultural, regional) is a tiny bit more loved by God than other groups.

Today’s verse is a beautifully convicting reminder that God sent Jesus to and for all of us. And one of the best ways to remember this truth is to intentionally seek relationships with those outside our own groups, finding ways to build on our commonalities instead of focusing intensely on our differences.

Julie

Today’s Act of Gratitude

Host a Friendsgiving in your home or at a restaurant, inviting a broad range of people to join you.