Thanksgiving Lessons
The Lord is close to the brokenhearted… — Psalm 34:18 (NIV)
Evie wasn’t friendly or accommodating like the other servers at the Waffle House. The day before Thanksgiving, when she charged me $1.70 for an ounce of milk for my coffee, I slapped a couple of choice labels on her too. “Grumpy” was my favorite. “You sure aren’t in much of a Thanksgiving frame of mind,” my sister said. “Where’s all that kindness and gratitude?” So I decided to change my tack. “You like magazines?” I asked Evie.
I’d brought along a couple of home decor glossies. “Don’t have time for picture books like some,” Evie grumbled. Then she paused and took in the cover. Featured was a mouth-watering pie. A slow smile crept across Evie’s face. “Well, I’ll be,” she said. “A pee-can pie. Gimme that thing. I’m going to make my man a pee-can pie for Turkey Day.”
Another server stole a glance at the photo of the pie and at Evie. “Don’t be thinking that magazine’s yours,” Evie said, jabbing the server’s elbow. “My friend at table five just gave it to me. I’m making my Sammy one of those pies. It’s his favorite, you know.”
Later, when Evie brought my order of scrambled eggs and bacon, she related the story of “her man.” They’d been together for thirty-five years. She’d baked him a pecan pie when they were newlyweds, and he’d raved about it ever since. But now he had end-stage lung cancer. Doctors predicted this would be his last Thanksgiving.
I’d been all wrong to judge Evie without knowing what made her the way she was. I’d thank God for her and ask Him to give her a double helping of blessings too.
Evie wasn’t mean-spirited at all, Lord. She simply had a broken heart. She can be my Thanksgiving teacher if I only let her. — Roberta Messner
Digging Deeper: Psalm 147:3; John 14:27; 1 Peter 5:7
I’d brought along a couple of home decor glossies. “Don’t have time for picture books like some,” Evie grumbled. Then she paused and took in the cover. Featured was a mouth-watering pie. A slow smile crept across Evie’s face. “Well, I’ll be,” she said. “A pee-can pie. Gimme that thing. I’m going to make my man a pee-can pie for Turkey Day.”
Another server stole a glance at the photo of the pie and at Evie. “Don’t be thinking that magazine’s yours,” Evie said, jabbing the server’s elbow. “My friend at table five just gave it to me. I’m making my Sammy one of those pies. It’s his favorite, you know.”
Later, when Evie brought my order of scrambled eggs and bacon, she related the story of “her man.” They’d been together for thirty-five years. She’d baked him a pecan pie when they were newlyweds, and he’d raved about it ever since. But now he had end-stage lung cancer. Doctors predicted this would be his last Thanksgiving.
I’d been all wrong to judge Evie without knowing what made her the way she was. I’d thank God for her and ask Him to give her a double helping of blessings too.
Evie wasn’t mean-spirited at all, Lord. She simply had a broken heart. She can be my Thanksgiving teacher if I only let her. — Roberta Messner
Digging Deeper: Psalm 147:3; John 14:27; 1 Peter 5:7
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Each day, readers will enjoy a Scripture verse, a true first-person story told in an informal, conversational style, which shares the ways God speaks to us in the ordinary events of life, and a brief prayer to help focus the reader to apply the day’s message. For those who wish for more, “Digging Deeper” provides additional Bible references that relate to the day’s reading. Enjoy favorite writers like Debbie Macomber, Edward Grinnan, Elizabeth Sherrill, Patricia Lorenz, Julia Attaway, Karen Barber, Sabra Ciancanelli, Marion Bond West, Brian Doyle, and Rick Hamlin. In just 5 minutes a day, Daily Guideposts helps readers find the spiritual richness in their own lives and welcomes them into a remarkable family of over one million people brought together by a desire to grow every day of the year. The most important 5 minutes you'll spend all day! |
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