May we be life to one another

             As our American brothers and sisters celebrate Thanksgiving, I wanted to share this experience with you:

      The other night, our five-year-old insisted we thank God for our chicken.  Saying thank you is part of our meal ritual, but the meal on the table was particularly significant to us.

     We enjoyed them all summer, watched them grow from day-old chicks to full grown clucking hens and crowing roosters.    It’s been a good experience for us all to be closer to the food chain, including the day a few weeks ago when we transitioned the chickens from the coop to the freezer.  There were eight households involved.     The adults worked outside while the children were cared for inside the house.  But later some came out and joined us.  This is the cycle of life and any trepidation they had slipped away.  One older boy started to goof around with a chicken’s neck.  His Dad said to him that while it was OK to play, he needed to be careful not to cross the line.  “We show respect for what we harvest.”

“We show respect for what we harvest.’  Wise words.  Ones that were reflected through that day, through our summer caring for the chickens ensuring they had good food and  quality of life (we’ll always remember their leaping in to the air when let out of the pen) and through this winter as they in turn feed us.   

A Thanksgiving Grace

 God, you who gave bread

to Moses and his people

while they travelled in the desert,

come now and bless these gifts of food

which you have given to us.

As this food gives up its life for us,

May we follow that pattern of self surrender.

May we be life to one another.  Amen.

---   by Edward Hays from Prayers for the Domestic church