Thanksgiving Musings

mmmmmmm home. Now there's a word that I have a whole new appreciation for. There's something very settled about being home. It's like college is some other life that doesn't actually exist. For the last week I've been in this magical place and my mind has thought thoughts that it hasn't had time to think about in a very long while. My mind has dared to dream. Brew some hot chocolate, prop your feet up, and read on folks--what you're about to read is a small peak into the dreams of my heart.

I've been amazed at how quickly this semester has flown, and that in a mere 20 days it will be over completely. The idea that college is in fact finite is finally beginning to take root in my brain. Two more Thanksgivings and this college business will be over, what comes after that? Where will I be in three Thanksgivings? I feel like the possibilities are endless. Possibilities. Endless. Now those are some very exciting words when connected at the hip.

While my family consumed exorbitant amounts of food today I couldn't help but think about past Thanksgivings and how they have evolved. I vaguely remember going to my Grandma's house for Thanksgiving. I remember the various Thanksgivings at our house in Texas. The year we had all of our extended family over--our house was SO packed! The year we had friends from church over--did any of us know that was the beginning of a friendship that would continue for who knows how many years? It seems like our Thanksgiving changes every year. Some years we haven't even been able to fit everyone around one table. Other years, like this year, it's just the six of us. And this is where the dreamer in me comes out.

As I looked at my family I couldn't help but wonder what will future Thanksgivings look like? I imagined what it would be like to have-- instead of four whimsical, single, girls at the table--four very in love women with four equally in love husbands intermixed. It made me smile to think of my dad watching the Cowboys play with more than just the cat for company. I sighed, just a little, when I imagined the distances some of those couples traveled just to be at that table. Or worse, the inevitable year one of us can't come because gas prices are too high or they had already promised the in-laws. Then I smiled when I dreamed up what it might be like to watch my family coo over the newest niece, communicate fluently in toddler dialect with two year old nephew, and snuggle up with a five year old niece to read The Best Christmas Pageant Ever.

Oh dreams......who knows if they'll ever come true. Who knows what bridges will need to be crossed in order to reach that place. In the mean time I am content knowing that God's plans are for my good and no matter what happens my future is a bright one. Isn't that a good truth to cling to?

I don't know about you, but I find Jeremiah 29:11 highly conducive to dreaming.

Happy Thanksgiving,

Em