Devotion for "Black Friday"

      We come to the end of Thanksgiving Day.  The Macy’s Parade safely delivered Santa Claus to Harold Square.  Many football games have been played and watched, including the annual “Turkey Bowl” between Calvert Hall and Loyola (the long-standing traditional other half of that event, the Poly-City game was moved to an earlier date some years ago, for reasons passing understanding).  The “Harbaugh Bowl” has ended with victory for John and the Ravens.  In a scene repeated all across the country, our family and friends feasted and enjoyed each other’s company.  (Brenda & Timothy did another masterful job of our very traditional turkey dinner (26 pound bird) along with delightful Kenyan additions.) 

      There were even the now traditional feeding of the poor and homeless at many locations, including the annual Bea Gaddy dinner in Baltimore.  A few people even found time to go to a worship service of Thanksgiving on Wednesday evening or, more rare, on Thursday morning.  This year, however, there were many store openings either Thursday night or from midnight Thursday/Friday on into the early morning hours to enable the all-important holiday shopping, known as “Black Friday” to begin sooner than ever.

      Thus the National Day of Thanksgiving came to an end.  While Christians certainly participate in the holiday, and often bemoan the ever growing commercialization of the day, it is perhaps useful to remember at for Christians, we do not have a day of Thanksgiving: we have a year full of days of Thanksgiving – every new day is the occasion for giving thanks to God for the abundance of God’s blessings to us.  First and foremost we give thanks to God for our creation and, in an amazing gift of love and mercy, our forgiveness and re-creation through the Eternal Christ, Jesus our Lord.  Over and over I commend to you the daily practice of Thankfulness Prayer (five minutes of just giving thanks to God for the people, circumstances and things of this world which have blessed us). 

      Therefore, I offer this prayer for you on Friday, the day after the National Holiday.

We pray that you and those you love

will have a very Happy Thanksgiving

and  that the blessings of God

will continue to be with you

even as you rejoice in all

that God has already done for you.

Yours & His,

DED