Thanksgiving is highly considered by many to be a “family” holiday. People travel to be with parents, siblings, children, and other relatives to spend the day together. They usually share in a meal full of traditional dishes while camping out in front of the television, playing games, resting, etc.

            One specific Thanksgiving several years ago, I recall spending the day with my family—not with the one of my origin but with the one here established from the close-knit ties of friendship. I arrived around noon that day, watching television and participating in conversations with those around me. Also, in between final preparations for the meal, my friends received phone calls from their family who all lived afar. While observing the snow falling and trying not to listen in on the conversations, I remember thinking that this is the true meaning of family.

             We all have some type of “family” that surrounds us with love and support—relatives, friends, and colleagues to possibly name a few. The family that we experience here on earth is only a small “slice” of our eternal family. Ephesians 1:4-6 states: “For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight. In love, He predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—to the praise of His glorious grace, which He has freely given us in the One He loves.” Can you imagine the Thanksgiving feast with which we will celebrate in eternity?! Knowing that the Lord has invited each of us to be a part of His one entire “family” is one of many blessings with which we can be thankful.