Happy Thanksgiving!
Amid the world’s suffering, we hope you all can find ways to remember spaciously all that you have been given and have been able to offer in this life. Please take the time to write a few sentences of thanks and see what happens for you! If you need scientific research on its importance, here you go!
Meanwhile, here’s a little Thanksgiving Soup for the Soul from Clare <3
It’s not that I didn’t like the turkey at Thanksgiving, but the Post-Thanksgiving Soup was the best of the holidays. I try to make it the way my dad did with Acini Di Pepe pasta, plenty of Carlo Rossi Burgundy, and butter, but it’s just not the same; maybe it’s because as he chopped everything up, there may have been a little dad-blood in it! It was a Zhuzhed-up “peasant meal.” but more than that; it was a way to linger in gratitude. That’s how Dad cooked, not fancy but oozing love (and butter.)
Sunday we celebrated Thanksgiving with our kids and G-kids (early I know but you gotta gather when you can!) I traveled down soup memory lane, and it took me to some lovely places of gratitude.
- My Italian immigrant grandparents
- Dad never forgot his roots or the people who needed his help
- Early marriage, living in a less-than-desirable neighborhood, its mice and other exciting creatures
- Making poverty wages during the 80’s recession
- Finding bags of groceries on our porch
- Driving a $35 “Grand” Torino
- Receiving hand-me-downs and shopping in thrift stores
- Focus Hope Detroit, peanut butter and cheese-food
- Learning how to make rice and beans and third-world stew
- Receiving $100 from our besties who had as much (or less) than we had
- Buying a first home that most people wouldn’t be willing to live in
- Paying for college
- Belly laughing
- Praying
- Seeing God’s loving provision
- Learning to love my neighbor as myself
- Heartbreaks
- Justice aches
- Longing for God’s Kingdom to come
And now some silly poetry about —
My Gratitude Soup
The turkey was fine, the feast was grand,
But the soup is where love took its stand.
A pot of memories, rich and deep,
Simmering stories that time will keep.
Acini di Pepe, a glug-glug of red wine,
Butter that made everything taste divine.
Dad’s hands chopping, a rhythm, a song,
Cooking like love, steady and strong.
A meal for the weary, a peasant’s delight,
Born of scarcity, yet shining so bright.
Not just flavors, but moments to savor,
A legacy of kindness, an aroma of favor.
I taste the past in every spoon,
Echoes of laughter, quotes and croones,
When life was lean, and yet so full—
Of prayers answered and hearts made whole.
Groceries left by an unseen friend,
Hope that seemed to have no end.
A $35 car, a humble abode,
Walking faith down a rugged road.
Rice and beans, thrift store finds,
Kingdom dreams and justice minds.
Mice in the walls, but love in the air,
God’s provision everywhere.
Today, I stir these memories anew,
Grateful for the path that led us through.
For heartbreak, for joy, for neighbors to love,
For whispers of grace from above.
Tomorrow’s soup will be more than a meal,
It will echo the love that we all feel.
A bowl of thanks, a prayer to share,
God’s Kingdom come, right here, everywhere.
We hope you’ll take the time to be spaciously remember any good thing that has happened for you and through you <3
Blessed Thanksgiving,
Scott and Clare
