by Rev Robert A Wendel
“When Yahweh your God enlarges your territory as he has promised you, and you say “I should like to eat meat’. If you want to eat meat you may eat as much as you like. Be faithful in all of the instructions I have given you so that your sons (and daughters) after you may be happy.
Yahweh keeps his help for honest people and those on the way of his devoted ones. All his paths lead to happiness. I will give peace to the land and you shall sleep with none to frighten you. (Deuteronomy 12: 20,28; Leviticus 26:6 Jerusalem Bible)
Thoroughbred horse racing is often called The Sport of Kings. Oval race tracks in the United States are one and one quarter miles long with the mid-pole being the half-way point in the race.
Those folks who are ages 50 through 69 can claim to be at life’s half-way point. You’ve earned, and can share, meat on your table. Meat on one’s table was a clear sign of good fortune.
The long Thanksgiving holiday may be the best time to take stock of the several blessings we’ve had during the year or have encountered during the first half century or so. Are you, truly, enjoying the fruits of your blessing today? Yes! There’s always something else to acquire, something to do, or one more hill to climb.
But, in your fifth or sixth decade, you are on the top of some hill right now; and it took some doing to get there. So, in the midst of your striving, be sure to look around and savor the God-given view.
Your children, by now, have given you a special kind of satisfaction and maybe grandchildren meaning your family name will continue. So, you feel a pull to care for grandchildren and/or you’re caught between launching your children and staying on the ground to care for your parents. For most people these years mean fewer choices.
Joshua Dubois offers this prayer. “Dear God, thank you for who you have made me. There is a lot yet to do. But this Thanksgiving let us not forget that there is a lot you have already done. Bless us with joy, the happiness that comes with the knowledge of you. Amen.”