“But as for me, by Your abundant lovingkindness I will enter Your house, At Your holy temple I will bow in reverence for You.” Psalm 5:7 NASB

My favorite holiday is Thanksgiving. Through the years we would prepare to open our home to friends, sharing the blessings of coming together to give thanks.

In Scotland we gathered the pastors and their wives to our table and they were perplexed by the holiday. “So, is this when you Yanks celebrate your independence, is it?” With laughter I assured them that in fact, it was pretty much the opposite. It was a day to acknowledge our utter dependence upon the Lord. His bounty, His blessing, His protection. His abundance.

In the Philippines one of the local farmers raised a turkey knowing we were to be with them. The local bakery owned by a member of the church was offered for me to prepare the feast. Before I could stop them, they had burnt the feathers off the bird, tribal style, which I knew would give the gravy a distinct burnt feathers flavor, (lol) but I was able to stop the food prep before the big bird was chopped into a million small pieces, stir fry style.

“NO!” I cried. “Keep it whole, I want to cook it with stuffing.” They looked at me with great skepticism. Many in the church would come, at least 35-40 people. If we were to keep the bird intact how could we feed them all?

Because there was no pan large enough, I used an oversized stainless steel mixing bowl as my roasting pan. I chopped up bread and onions and garlic and herbs and vegetables and stuffed the bird, laid it on top of a mountain of carrots and onions and covered it with foil. It went into the large bakers oven set to 375. For 5 hours. I had an army peel and chop potatoes and chose the largest pots to boil them for mashed potatoes. I stuck sweet potatoes into the oven next to the turkey to roast.

When it was done, I took the burnt feather flavored drippings and made a large soup pot of gravy.

A sister from the church arrived with a pumpkin pie, from a recipe she had from a relative in the US.

And, their eyes wide at the sight of such a HUGE un-chopped bird, they gathered, all thirty five men women and children to dine on the feast. And beloved. We experienced God’s great abundance! There was even food left over!

We pray this year that you and yours will know God’s rich blessing, and His abundance on your lives. Happy Thanksgiving and God bless you all.

~ Debbie Ecker