Our Linen Thanksgiving Journal
Thanksgiving is probably my favorite holiday, yes, even beating out Christmas. There’s something to be said for a holiday that hasn’t caved in to commercialism. In our family, it is a time of gathering together to share a feast, but most importantly, to thank the God who has so richly blessed us all year long.
A dozen or more years ago, my mother bought a white linen tablecloth and some colorful, permanent, fabric markers. At our family gathering, she invited us to write on the Thanksgiving tablecloth something for which we were thankful.
Every year we reuse the same tablecloth and add what we’re thankful for that year. We all sign and date our entry. Some draw a picture. The children think it’s wonderful to write on the tablecloth! And the adults love it almost as much.
This tradition became particularly meaningful after my father died. We could see his writing on our tablecloth and remember his legacy of faith and thanksgiving. It’s also fun watching the grandchildren grow and seeing their baby scribbles turn to actual writing and expressions of thanksgiving. It’s a linen journal of gratitude that we gather around as we eat our traditional feast.
Now Thanksgiving is held at my house instead of Mom’s. As I spread the tablecloth over my table each year, I anticipate the arrival of those whom I cherish in the deepest part of my heart. I often tear up remembering all the ways we’ve been blessed, mostly by just being together year after year. I reread the words of thanksgiving we’ve written over the years, struggles we’ve been through, joys we’ve experienced, losses we’ve grieved, and remember that God has never left us or forsaken us. That is what I am most thankful for–God’s ever-abiding presence faithfully ministering to us in every season of life.
What Thanksgiving traditions does your family have? Share it with us in the comments.
I love this story. Wish we had thought of this when our children (and grandchildren) were younger. We don’t have any Thanksgiving traditions; we’re just thankful!
No better Thanksgiving tradition than that, Donna! Thanks for commenting! 🙂
What a lovely tradition & blessing for your family, Linda! Thanks for sharing.
Thanks, Wendy! Happy Thanksgiving!
Thank you so much for this wonderful idea . I am going to start this Thanksgiving ( better later than never ) . We have two grandchildren and our third one will be born two days before Thanksgiving. This will be something special to pass down . Are you actually putting it on the table with all the plates and food and not worrying about all the spills , I’m assuming its being treated as a normal table cloth ?? Thankyou
Linda, we used it as our regular tablecloth (plates, food, spills, and all!) the first several years since the fabric markers were permanent and washable. But now that we’ve used it for several years, we’ve started covering it with another tablecloth or removing it just before the meal so it doesn’t get dirty. The writing was starting to fade a bit when we washed it, and we didn’t want to take any chances of them becoming too light to read.
I hope your family finds this tradition to be as meaningful as ours did. Congratulations on your new little blessing being born Thanksgiving week! What a treasure. Thanksgiving blessings to you and yours!
What a wonderful tradition and growing treasure.
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