Something Missing at Thanksgiving

CBN.com - It is fun to reminisce about the stories we have of past Thanksgiving days, especially the funny ones. I want to take you to a scene somewhere in the 1950’s when I was a child.

I remember that my mother had a pressure cooker, and she would cook turnip, potatoes, and meats in that pot.

One year, I remember  that the top of the pressure cooker kind of wobbled about and made this hissing noise. It flew off and we all tried to find it, but mother said it may have went behind the stove, and that we could look for it after dinner.

My sister and I set the table with a nice linen tablecloth, and we all had on aprons (except for my father of course). His only job was to carve the bird once it was placed in the center of the table.

My mother’s kitchen was small, and the wash machine was even in the kitchen, so she laid a nice place mat over it and used it as a counter top to set the homemade pies from the oven to cool down.

My sister and I were busy setting the dishes onto the table. Then my mother would make the grand entry with the 20 pound turkey. I had my eyes on other things though, counting the minutes when I could eat pumpkin pie and mincemeat pie.

Later in the evening, my father pulled out the stove because my mother, sister, and I were washing dishes. My mother went to put away her pressure cooker, yet to everyone’s surprise it was not back there.

Drawers were opened, the trash can was checked, the sink was drained of water, but no pressure cooker to be found. This was a mystery, but my father said he would check under the water heater the following day when my mother would mop the kitchen floor. We all felt that was the only possible place it could be.

The left-over turkey was placed in the refrigerator to be cut up the next day for sandwiches and turkey soup. We sure did have a lot left over. It was a great Thanksgiving day, and we were relieved that all was put away!

The following morning my mother was up early mopping the kitchen, and my father was on his knees with the flashlight looking for the missing top to the pressure cooker.

I felt like being Nancy Drew and was determined to solve the case of the missing top. I always enjoyed reading those mystery novels. I sat down at the dining room table and tried to retrace the events of the prior day. I remembered my mother taking the turkey from the oven and setting it over on the countertop near the sink. It was facing towards the stove.

Now I knew my father carved that ole' bird and removed the dressing, but my mother had stuffed it after the top blew off.

Could it be? I jumped up and ran to the fridge to take out the turkey. I just couldn’t wait to get my little hand inside the turkey and feel around. Do you want to know what happened?

All the way in the back, almost to the tail of the turkey was the missing silver top. Those pressure cookers are powerful! They fire those things off usually to the ceiling, and this one went off and to the right into that turkey, just like a missile.

I got my family together and told them I had solved the mystery. It was unbelievable, but it happened.

There are unbelievable events that take place in our lives every day, and we either dismiss them as normal or take them for granted. We don’t acknowledge them enough. This Thanksgiving, let us thank God for those things in our life that He has done for us, whether they are big or small events. Thank Him for waking up this morning. Thank Him for the ability to move about and for having shelter, food, and health. Also, for living in a land where people protect us and fight for us. 

This year when you sit down to eat your turkey dinner, be grateful for your family, and for the gift they are to you because the Lord gave them to you.  

Colossians 2:7 says,

"Plant your roots in Christ and let Him be the foundation for your life. Be strong in your faith, just as you were taught. And be grateful. (Contemporary English Version)"

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