My turn for devotions... Day 1

Every morning, the CAMS staff gathers for a devotion before the school day starts.  Each week, one of the staff members signs up to lead.  Last term, I decided to sit and watch to see what it was all about.  This term, I decided to sign up for a week.  At the beginning of the term, I didn't realize that the week I signed up for was the week of Thanksgiving at home.  When I realized this, I decided that my devotion in the morning would center around the good things that the holiday brings.  Then, I decided to share them with all of you! 

So, here's today's devotion...

Right now all over the USA, people are travelling, or planning on travelling.  They are preparing themselves to visit with families and friends.  Those who aren’t travelling are preparing their homes for company.  In my house growing up, this meant a thorough cleaning of every room in the house, even the ones my grandparents wouldn’t see.  I always thought it was silly to do extra cleaning just because our family was coming.  I mean, aren’t they family.  Are they really coming to see how well we keep our house?  Who were we trying to impress? 

 

On top of cleaning the entire house, we would often have to move out of our bedrooms, the kids at least.  I remember many times when I would have to move downstairs onto a cot in my brother’s room so my grandpa could sleep in my bed.  My mom always tried to make it fun for me.  I remember several visits where I would open the “Heidi Hotel” and leave mints on the pillow of the freshly made bed.  Even with every room full of my immediate family, there was always enough room for more, until it seemed like we would have to sit on top of each other in my parent’s small house or spill outside onto the front lawn, which didn’t seem as small a few days earlier.

 

My mom also has a tradition of going shopping for all the food we could possibly need while our visitors are home, before they get there.  This is a part of preparing for their arrival.  Being a good host means having everything you need to make their stay enjoyable, including providing their meals.  It would be horrible if someone went hungry on your watch!

 

In thinking about preparing our homes for family at thanksgiving, I can’t help but remember a song we used to sing on youth retreats.  It was one of my favorites and I still occasionally find it stuck in my head.  The song came from a passage in the book of John.  In it, we find that just like in my parent’s house, there is always enough room and always enough food.  In The Message, a modern adaptation of the bible, this passage reads “There is plenty of room for you in my Father’s home.  If that weren’t so, would I have told you that I’m on my way to get a room ready for you?”

 

Now, I’m not a singer, but I will be happy to read the song to you:

Verse 1:

I don't know where you lay your head

Or where you call your home

I don't know where you eat your meals

Or where you talk on the phone

I don't know if you got a cook

A butler or a maid

I don't know if you got a yard

With a hammock in the shade

Verse 2:

I don't know if you've got some shelter

Say a place to hide

I don't know if you live with friends

In whom you can confide

I don't know if you've got a family

Say a mom and dad

I don't know if you've loved at all

But I bet you wish you had. 

Chorus:

Come and go with me to my Father's house

Come and go with me to my Father's house

It's a big big house with lots and lots of rooms

A big big table with lots and lots of food

It's a big big yard where we can play football

A big big house, it's my Father's house.

Verse 3:

All I know is a big ol' house

With rooms for everyone

All I know is a-lots of land

Where we can play and run

All I know is that you need love

And I've got a family

All I know is you're all alone

So why not come with me?

For those of you who want to hear a version of this song, here is a YouTube video.  Enjoy!