thanksGIVING
What is the “Turkey Drop”?
That was my question when I saw the invitation for a youth group event being held at Living Stones Reno Church on the Sunday before Thanksgiving. What this turkey drop is not is the 2019 movie starring Olivia Holt or the practice of dropping your significant other right before Thanksgiving. I quickly learned that this Turkey Drop was an event to provide meals for families going through a hard time. Donations of turkeys, potatoes, vegetables, salads, rolls, yams, jars of gravy, cans of cranberry sauce, and pies were accumulated; then boxed up based on the number of people in the family. The high school counseling team, teachers, and staff are aware of and in relationship with families throughout the year and were able to identify several families experiencing difficult circumstances. Members of Living Stones Reno Church wanted to offer meals in this 2nd annual Turkey Drop and were thrilled to partner with the school to show love to these families.
When Sophia, her boyfriend, and I arrived at the church to help assemble the boxes, we could immediately feel the excitement. I have been a part of community serving events in the past and always found blessings in abundance. The energy here was definitely high and amazing from the first moment. The kids were dressed in black or other dark colors and one child had on a costume to camouflage him. That didn’t make sense to me. But what do I, a 53 year old woman, know about middle school boys. As we were talking about what was to come, I began to piece things together?
The middle and high school kids gathered along with adult drivers would be going to the homes of the families, ring the bell, leave the food boxes on the porch, and run away quickly before being seen. The “turkey drop” was much like a doorbell ditch and not getting caught was a large part of the excitement. The kids were thrilled, talking animatedly, laughing, and sharing stories about their plans. before heading out the kids decorated the boxes, wrote thoughtful notes to the families, and assembled the boxes knowing the specifics of the family that would be celebrating Thanksgiving together. Adults were present and gave space to the kids to do all the work. While they were gone, a few moms prepared hot chocolate (really got hot water ready plus hot chocolate packets and cups out) for their return. Listening to the kids celebrate what happened was magical. We left tired and on fire for the evidences of grace and magnitude of blessings received.
Twenty families would be eating a meal together on Thanksgiving, but on that Sunday, 33 kids had the time of their lives. Permission to doorbell ditch and the blessing of giving, plus back to the church after for debrief and hot chocolate. As I listened to their leader share the plan, my eyes welled up (they are welling up now too). The beauty and simplicity of a turkey drop event makes me emotional because I know it is bigger than any one person. The impact of this event on the families AND the kids is not quantifiable. I know this to be true because of my own experiences giving and because of the testimony of the adults there that night that remembered being middle and high schoolers themselves and participating in turkey drops. Several of the moms were witnessing the generational impact as their own children enjoyed the experience.
Often we focus all our attention on gratitude in November and at Thanksgiving. Don’t get me wrong, giving thanks is important. Gratitude is a practice that I admit I can continue to grow in my own life. And… Thanksgiving is a compound word. And it strikes me that focus on the second half of the word can also be important. Consider that our ability to give comes out of our gratitude as another way to think about thanksgiving. What would happen in our lives if thanks giving shared attention with giving thanks.
For our first Turkey Drop, these are 10 blessings and feelings that we experienced as givers.
Fun with friends
Surprises and unexpected encounters
Community building
Satisfaction in work
Adventures
Joy in our souls
Pride in creating
Thankfulness for provisions
Generations working together
Evidences of grace
Often I struggle to articulate blessings when giving leads to gratitude. The kids had no problem. I’d love to share every thing they shared with me and for privacy will keep the details out. During the debriefing and on the ride home, I heard many evidences of grace or what the kids called “miracles”. Some might consider them coincidences but we saw divine connections. From the random car the kids rode in that connected them to new people with much in common with them to the delivery to a person one of the kids knew and had been praying for personally. The impact to the givers was as significant as the blessing to the families.
Think about what blessings you have received when giving. I imagine it is a great list, one that makes you smile. Now that’s something to be grateful for and proof that thanks leads to giving and giving leads to thanks. Thanksgiving - what a great compound word, holiday, and opportunity for reflection.
