What is your name?

“My name is Rory. What’s yours?”

It was a really special morning with my little boy this Thanksgiving. Having been sent home with three full bags of well-packed leftovers from St. Stephen’s, Maple, last night, we decided to go for a walk and see if anyone needed a meal.

Unfortunately, living downtown makes this task far too easy to accomplish. But within minutes of being out the door, Rory walked straight up to a lady sitting on the curb and said, “My name is Rory. What’s yours?”

Smiles and pleasantries were exchanged, and Rory explained how we were at a church dinner last night and had some extra meals we couldn’t eat—and asked if she would like one.

I think each person we met appreciated the kindness and charm of my little four-year-old boy as much as they were grateful for food, and I’m certain the gift each of them gave Rory far surpassed any delight I may have felt in offering charity that would make me feel good about myself.

This Thanksgiving, I am grateful for the rich and the poor, the comfortable and the marginalized, and the peaks and valleys of life. But most of all, I am grateful for the faith I have in God’s coming Kingdom, where there is a banquet table prepared for us all. A feast so plentiful that all will eat, and a community so connected, no name will ever have to be asked or declared; because God’s abundance will triumph over our hoarding and scarcity, and our divided lines will be erased by the salvation of God.

#Thanksgiving #CountingBlessings #Fatherhood

Originally penned by David: Canadian Thanksgiving 2018