House

Then you, together with the Levites and the aliens who reside among you, shall celebrate with all the bounty that the Lord your God has given to you and to your house. 

 - From Deuteronomy 26

Thanksgiving Weekend is upon us, here in 2022. It is Wednesday afternoon. I have had a leisurely day, so far, of taking my time on emails and overall relaxing. I will take a jog shortly. The weather is beautiful. 

For the first time in years, I have a holiday that feels like a holiday. I have just completed seven days in a classroom, as an actual, real teacher. Granted, my job is not permanent yet. But my day off today is a real one. It was preceded by a full day of work: eight hours framed  by a one-hour commute, both ways. I leave in the morning, when it's dark. Shortly after I arrive home in the evening, it's dark. This is more like the normal day experienced  by most people. 

Holidays, or "Holy Days" should be consciously realized as a taste of eternity. We should be mindful of this. Your reflections on a holiday should be: God's eternal kingdom is like this. 

But, only the good parts. Those moments that we wish will last forever, will, one day (one eternal day). And if we think that would be boring, after a while, there are still countless other moments in our lives, that we would like to relive over and over and over again; that we would like to last forever. And we will have forever to re-experience as many of them as we want. 

Or perhaps we will want to make some new adventures for ourselves, in Eternal Eden.

There is a lot to unpack in today's verse. I've danced around all of it, with my whimsical ponderings. Suffice to say: Holidays are a big deal, way more than we know. They should be thought of as a taste of eternity. We are supposed to celebrate. We are supposed to have already provide from our blessings, assistance to the truly needy. We should particularly remember those that serve us, while receiving little pay (teachers, pastors, artists, non-profit professionals). We should open our homes to strangers in our midst, including aliens from other lands. And it should occur within the confines of our house (that's another topic, for another day).

HAPPY THANKSGIVING