by Carla Williams
This year, let’s be missional with our Thanksgiving!
Ah, Thanksgiving. A season for delicious food, grateful thoughts, and intense scrutiny from your mother-in-law.
I know you’re proverbial (and physical) plate is probably already overflowing, but what about a change? Here are four ways to take a few steps back this season to think missionally in this holiday of gratitude.
Here are my suggestions, in a convenient 4-part blog series!
1 – Include Outsiders
If you strip Thanksgiving down to its most basic roots, you get two different people groups who came together, learned, adapted, and celebrated. (I know, it’s a LOT more complicated than that. But go with me, here.)
Why not return to those roots this Thanksgiving? This is the perfect holiday to engage cross-culturally.
I don’t even know whom to ask.
There are foreign students desperately lonely for a family environment all around the nation. Most of them will never step foot into an American house. How about making your home the exception?
Maybe you have a co-worker from another country you’ve been meaning to engage. Or you can ask your kids about international families in their schools. Your children probably already have far more diverse friendships than you do.
Or, you can always just look at your local grocery store. There’s bound to be someone there who isn’t like you. (Granted, it’s a little awkward to go to the store on the hunt for an international family, so try not to be too creepy about it. Maybe don’t go in an unmarked white van.)
The reality is, there are endless people who have never experienced an American holiday in an American home. Let’s change that.
How do I let them be part of the fun?
Invite your international guests to cook one of their favorite dishes!
Here is a great opportunity for you to grow in your understanding of the world. Don’t just invite them – provide a way to learn from them!
As you introduce them to deliciously cooked turkey, you could also request one of their traditional dishes. And let them teach you how to make it.
Or ask out about their favorite holidays. Do they have anything similar to our Thanksgiving? Are there ways to integrate some of their customs into your celebration? Find ways to bridge the differences.
But, what if they actually come?
But…what if they actually come?
It’s intimidating to invite others into your celebration, but it’s a whole other ballgame once they accept. But it doesn’t have to be a big deal if you follow these surprisingly simple steps:
- Be warm and attentive, but not overbearing.
- Ask questions about their life and share about yours. (Aka, have an actual conversation.)
- Maintain your normal Thanksgiving traditions (like going around the table to let everyone share something they’re thankful for, praying for the meal, and engaging in embarrassingly competitive games of charades), but be certain to explain the expectations to your guests. Excuse them graciously from any part that brings terror into their eyes.
- Treat them the way you’d want to be treated.
Thanksgiving is a great way to start a conversation with an international student or family, but your friendship doesn’t have to end after the pumpkin pie.
Thanksgiving can open the door, but the real relationship will emerge in the conversations of every day life.
But wait, there’s more! Explore other missional Thanksgiving ideas in the rest of the series: Grateful Prayers | Serve Instead | Write a Missionary
