The Lord prepares for your plate to overflow

There are many wonderful things about Thanksgiving. A home full of the traditional Thanksgiving smells. Family and friends gathering around the table. Passing out in front of the television from a tryptophan overdose. Turkey sandwiches made from the leftovers the next day. A Thanksgiving celebration is only as rich as the preparation that went into it.

Preparing for a successful Thanksgiving is vital. Whether you are preparing to receive guests or to travel, every Thanksgiving meal is accompanied by preparation. The turkey must be prepared and placed in the oven hours in advance. The side dishes must be chosen well. In many cases plans on how and who and when to prepare them must be thought through and planned for. Most importantly, the selection and preparation of the desserts must be taken with care.

While living away from family and surrounded by friends who were living a great distance from family, we decided to have our own Thanksgiving gathering. I was in charge of preparing mashed potatoes for a dinner party of six. I prepared the potatoes by washing, peeling and boiling them until they were soft enough to mash. Before touching the potatoes, I prepared by looking at recipes to season them. The recipe that was prepared for me was followed line by line so the potatoes were mashed and seasoned to, in my opinion, perfection.

Once the dinner guests arrived, they were invited to the table covered with turkey, stuffing, cranberries, pumpkin pie and 20 pounds of mashed potatoes. The overabundance of potatoes could have fed an army for a week.

Psalm 23:5 reminds us that the Lord leads those who trust in him to the overflowing table he has prepared for them. The creator of the universe extends an invitation for those who trust him to come to the table. His table is not an ordinary table. His table is one that he has been prepared. A prepared table is one that is ready for its guests, expressing the intimacy in which the Lord extends the invitation. His abundant preparation and abundant spiritual meal is one that sustains us during times of plenty and during times of want. The good shepherd extends an invitation to those who trust him to dine with him this Thanksgiving.

Rob Hurtgen is a husband, father and serves as the associate pastor at the First Baptist Church in Jackson.