Happy Thanksgiving 2019!

I know there’s Lewis content to which this could be tied, but I’m going to tag this NLC anyway. Happy Thanksgiving to all of SpareOom! Thanksgiving is a Christian virtue; indeed its absence is among Paul’s greatest indictments against fallen man: “For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.” (Rom. 1:21).

We live in conditions that would have been unimaginably luxurious for people only a century or two ago, and should rightly give thanks for our material blessings. But even in their absence–indeed, even in the face of great persecution, as the church in China is facing right now–we need to remember that those material comforts pale in comparison with the incomparable riches of God’s grace expressed in Christ (Eph. 2:7). May it ever be so.

Just to make a Lewis connection (:-), I thought I would re-send a post from 2 years ago. My family’s situation this year is the same as then (except that my wife and I have now been married for 50 years), and as far as Lewis’s goes, I assume that he’s “further up and further in”, as he writes about the Pevensie children in the next-to-last chapter of “The Last Battle”. Here is the post from 2017:

"Initially, there were four of us: my wife of 50 years and my two grown sons. My daughter was with her husband’s family, and my brother was with the family of his son’s wife. The four of us started by closing our eyes in a prayer of thanksgiving. When we opened them to our great surprise and delight, there was C.S. Lewis! He said he had never been to America before, much less to a Thanksgiving celebration, since there was no such custom in England. And he said he was looking forward to partaking of the scrumptious food he saw before him.

"After the four of us had spoken about the things we were grateful for, we asked Lewis if he would also like to mention things that he was grateful for. He said that the first thing that came to mind was the wonderful time he had spent with Joy, even when she was dying. He also mentioned his get-togethers with the Inklings and the hikes he made with good friends across hills and dales of the countryside, as well as the pleasure he got from writing the works which came from his pen. And above all, he said, he was grateful for the grace of God which was given to him to do the things he did.

"We plied him, of course, to tell us more about his life and works, especially things we had not read about. He seemed glad to do so. Towards the end of the meal we asked him if he had actually spent any time in Purgatory, as he had said that he had expected to do. He smiled and said that we would only be able to learn this after we ourselves had passed to the other life. But his smile seemed to indicate that he was happy with where he was now.

"At the end of the meal, we again closed our eyes in prayer, and when we opened them, he was gone.

"A wonderful Thanksgiving meal!

“And I hope that everyone in SpareOom also has a joyful celebration!”

And Dan, thanks again for all your work with SpareOom!

Dimitry

“Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. Love does not demand its own way. Love is not irritable, and it keeps no record of when it has been wronged. It is never glad about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. Love will last forever.” (1 Corinthians 13: 4-8)