In Everything, Give Thanks!

As you read this, many of you are already making plans for your Thanksgiving holiday. And I am sure that many of you will be spending the holiday with relatives and friends enjoying a grand feast. It has always been a big deal in our family. Mom makes the best dressing and gravy ever! I can smell the turkey roasting in the oven and all the other wonderful aromas permeating every corner of the house.

tg2.jpg

Early risers huddle in line more than an hour prior to distribution.

Sacred Heart Southern Missions has been working feverishly to finish up the 671 Thanksgiving packages for our clients and I had the privilege to be there.

The coldest night of the year so far gave way to the coldest morning, bright and sunny, yet a frigid 26 degrees. Driving down Main Street, just before 7:30 a.m., I was shocked to see a line of clients already wrapped around the food pantry. These folks were obviously motivated. The distribution didn’t start for another hour.

tg1.jpg

On the way home...turkey in tow.

As I walked to the back of the building, cheerful yet chattering, “Good Mornings” could be heard. Some of our staff had already arrived and stationed our two vans for easy client access. Several hundred turkeys awaited the clients—courtesy of our generous donors.

I slipped inside the building to take a peek before the throngs of people started coming through. A dozen or so volunteers gathered in the front room, all joining hands for a prayer before distribution began. Bags lined every spare surface.

Very efficient, when the doors opened, clients showed their identification and collected their sacks. They were given yellow cards to present to our staff in order to collect a turkey.

Clients came around back to pick up their birds. One client rested on a bench with her collection, waiting on a relative who had come to the pantry with her. When her cousin arrived, I offered to help them to their vehicle with their sacks. “Thank you, but we walked,” she said as she adjusted the plastic bags on her arms. Her companion pulled up an old suitcase with wheels, stuffed in both turkeys and quickly zipped it up. Wearing tattered jackets that were no match for the cold, they started down the driveway.

“Where are you going,” I asked. “Would you like a ride back to your house?”

Tears welled up in her eyes as she turned and threw her arms around me. “Oh yes, God bless you,” she exclaimed. The relief on her face said volumes. Their home was on the far side of town, nearly 2 miles away.

It wasn’t until then that I noticed that a good many of the people had showed up on foot. Several even came in their wheel chairs—not from warm vans equipped with wheelchair access, but rolling their chairs through the bone chilling cold to pick up their food. Our staff had to assist more than once when wheelchairs got stuck in the gravel drive. Our staff made numerous trips through town assisting those who couldn’t manage on their own.

The frosty morning was melted away by the smiles from the grateful people who showed up at the pantry last day. The struggles of these people were obvious and it was clear that we made a difference with this addition to their Thanksgiving table.

As we get ready for turkey day this year, I am grateful to be a part of such a wonderful organization and to see all the good things we do. May God richly bless each of you and your families this Thanksgiving.

Give A Gift Of Support Our Thanksgiving Food Drive