Volunteering on Thanksgiving Day is a blessing for those who give as well as those who receive.

Thanksgiving brings us together.  All across our nation, families come home, gather around the table. Our differences become smaller than what unites us, and we often recognize, even when times are tough, how blessed we are.

Thanksgiving at Mission Arlington^® is as much a spirit as it is an event. We see in one place, and in one morning, what we experience all year long – from a community which gives more than it receives simply to bless someone else in need.

Perhaps some of us have been there when times were tough, and the price of a turkey was too much for the family to afford. Many know what it is like to wish someone had cared for them in their moment of need. We hear it every Thanksgiving from some one – “I used to be the one receiving this meal.  Now, I am here to give back.” They want to make sure that others never have to be hungry and alone on Thanksgiving morning, so they drive from all across the DFW Metroplex, give their time, spend their own money to purchase the food.

Others have been blessed all along, and haven’t necessarily known a need like this, but they bring their children to serve, because on this special holiday, the parents want their children to know how blessed they really are.  Perhaps the children don’t have every toy and technological tool that they want, or the newest clothes, but they have more than they need.  As they deliver the Thanksgiving meals with their families, the children experience the rich blessing of service to others and love for all without a need to know the details. “Thanks for letting us bring our children” is a refrain heard often, among the crowd.

For many, this day at Mission Arlington^® has become a family tradition. They meet other family, or they come with a team, and they have been serving in the Thanksgiving line for 10 or 15 years in a row.  They will often say to us “Do you remember when?” and mention some detail of a Thanksgiving day gone by. Years ago, a few volunteers got up at 3:00 a.m. to make coffee for the Thanksgiving Day volunteers. The year before had been cold and wet, and they  wanted people to have a hot cup of coffee to drink.  It took most of the night to make 5,000 cups of coffee.  That particular Thanksgiving morning was very warm, and people had already stopped to purchase their coffee on the way in.  We did give away a lot of coffee on that day, but we also had quite a bit left.  We still smile about those days.

The laughter and love which spills over all across the city is extraordinary to experience. If you would like to be part of it, please join us. We start at 8:00 a.m.  It may be one of the best Thanksgiving day experiences of your life. All glory to God.

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