An Undivided Heart

This eve of Thanksgiving might be putting more pressure than normal on those of us who celebrate this day of giving thanks to God by gathering with our families.  Based on the tradition that the early pilgrims, after a hard beginning at their Plymouth, Massachusetts colony, served their tribal friends a meal to thank them for their help in adapting to their new home, Thanksgiving has since become a national holiday.
Today we travel with great difficulty, in many instances, to be with family, gather around a sumptuous meal, and offer prayers of gratitude to God and express our gratitude to our family for the love they give us.
In order to do justice to this admirable custom, it might be good to relieve the stress and pressure by approaching it with an undivided heart, focusing on the love we wish to share and not on the problems we experienced traveling, or the things we could be doing, or which "have to be done".  Now that another custom has crept in, that of "Black Friday" bargain shopping for Christmas, we deal with another pressure. It has now even invaded  Thanksgiving Day itself, with stores opening up in the afternoon and evening of Thursday, just as dessert is making its way to our stomachs, pulling us away from family, dividing our loyalty to them to save a few dollars.  If we want to please them with a special gift, why not give them the gift of our time, of the gift of ourselves by BEING with them.  No THING can replace a "heart full of love."  What can we do today to make it less stressful and help us to be more present tomorrow?
Bro. Rene