A Feast of Joy and Thanksgiving

Our family is preparing for a large family reunion this week. One of the biggest parts of that preparation is planning the menus and gathering the ingredients for our time of feasting.

But even as we walk the grocery store aisles, I’m hopeful that our feasting will be, not just of food, but also of joy and thanksgiving. I’m reminded of Charlotte Mason’s saying: “Gratitude spreads his feast of joy and thanksgiving for gifts that come to him.”

A feast of joy and thanksgiving comes from an attitude of gratitude. Want some specifics? Here is the list Charlotte gave to get us started thinking. We can be grateful for these gifts.

• A delightful or helpful book
• A great picture
• A glorious day
• The face of a little child
• Happy work
• Pleasant places

As CM homeschool moms we are in unique positions to enjoy the items on that list. I’m sure we have all had the gift of reading a delightful or helpful living book already this year. With Charlotte’s method of picture study, we have ample opportunities to feast on great pictures. Nature study has enhanced those glorious fall days. We have the privilege of looking into the faces of our little ones often during the days. And we can invest our energy and creativity into making our homes places of happy work and pleasant atmospheres.

Charlotte reminded us that gratitude is quick to “taste the deliciousness of his employment.” This Thanksgiving let’s remind ourselves how delicious our jobs as homeschool mothers can be. Enjoy a feast of gratitude for all these gifts and more!

“Gratitude spreads his feast of joy and thanksgiving for gifts that come to him without any special thought of him on the part of the giver, who indeed may himself have gone from the world hundreds of years ago. Thus he says his grace for a delightful or helpful book, for a great picture, for a glorious day, for the face of a little child, for happy work, for pleasant places. According to the saying of Jeremy Taylor, he is quick to ‘taste the deliciousness of his employment.’ He is thankful for all the good that comes to him” (Vol. 4, Book 1, pp. 110, 111).

We at SCM have been blessed by the gift of you, our readers and encouragers along the CM way. We are truly thankful for all of you who make our labors “delicious”!