Leftovers!

“Now gather the leftovers,” Jesus told His disciples, “so that nothing is wasted.”
—John 6:12

What is your favorite Thanksgiving leftover?

Americans consumed approximately 48,000,000 turkeys or approximately 720,000,000 pounds of turkey meat this last weekend. Add to this: the pumpkin pies, cranberries, stuffing, sweet potatoes and you get LEFTOVERS.


According to a study done by the University of Arizona, up to 25% of all food ends up as leftovers; or about the equivalent of 12,000,000 birds! Leftovers...ample though they may be, are a source of weekend inspiration. There are sandwiches, snacks, and eventually soup. Whether cold or hot they remind you of the experience we call Thanksgiving.

It remains the holiday with the most universal draw, as 42,000,000 of us travel an average of 240 miles to be with family and friends.

Thanksgiving is the time when what you bring to exchange is friendship and love. You don’t need to rush around finding presents. You just need to show up and bring the gift of friendship and love...and appetite. Friends and family provide you with the unique opportunity to fill that God-placed desire in your life to belong, to be loved, to be accepted and even forgiven.

It is in the midst of your friends and family that you find belonging and commitment, trust and hope. Friends and family sounds like an old marketing jingle, and the term Friend has been weakened by Facebook where all it takes to be a friend is a click of your mouse.

Thanksgiving calls you to celebrate a much deeper bond and commitment. You know this experience through the Leftovers. Not the sandwiches; but the memories, the deep satisfaction, that linger in your heart long after the plane takes off, or the car pulls away, or the phone call concludes.

Maya Angelou said, “People will forget what you did, they will forget what you said, but they will never forget how you made them feel.”

Like good Leftovers, the gift of family and friends lingers. In a few moments you will be caring for, talking with, or helping patients and their families. These are people who are worried, or anxious and who are looking for someone to help them know they belong and are valued, someone to help them trust and find hope. Care for them as family and friend, let your experience be one that results in LEFTOVERS... good feelings that linger!