Love, Fun and Heaven on Earth

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday.  Oh, I love Christmas and Easter because of what they represent, but after Christmas there is the inevitable letdown that comes from weeks of preparation and anticipation.  Easter is different because after it passes, the days get longer, warm weather begins to settle in, and we get to box up the woolies and pull out the spring clothes.  Oh yeah, and baseball season starts :)

But thanksgiving is different to me.  It comes at the end of college football season (yeah, sports are big at our house) and it ushers in the Christmas season.  So once the roaster is washed and the china is put away, it's finally time to unpack the decorations and plan for the holiday.  But more than that, it's a special time for my Rinehart family because it's the weekend of our reunion at Alpine Lodge

We began this tradition about 15 years ago after the death of my grandmother.  She and my grandfather had a quiver FULL of children, nine total with eight surviving.  In fact, my middle given name (Hope) comes from my aunt who died in infancy.  With eight adult children and 20 grandchildren, many of whom were married with children of their own, the Alpine Lodge provided a place for the entire family to stay and all be together.  I think that year there were about 70 of us, and while we mourned the death of Grandma, we also rejoiced in her life and had fun spending time together.  So thanksgiving weekend at the Lodge was born and became a family tradition.

It is a weekend full of catching up, eating, playing games, eating, looking at old photos, eating, singing, eating... did I mention eating??  This is a family that can put a serious hurtin' on some grub, and having a constant spread of food is something that we all love.  The little kids love it because, for the most part, the healthy eating rules that are in place at home are tossed out the window at the Lodge.  The big kids love it because it means nonstop noshing and we have some fabulous cooks, including sweet Rachel who is a professional cookie caterer.  I hope someday she is able to offer shipping, but for now I will just drool over her website and look forward to having them once a year.  They are worth the wait :)

We are also a family of gamers, and I don't mean Xbox and Playstation.  Once the tables are cleared of the dishes, they become full of every sort of game you can imagine.  It seems that every year we are introduced to a new game, and this year (for me, at least) it was the card game "Set"and it will be under our tree Christmas morning :)  We also love Mexican train Dominoes, spades, spoons, progressive rummy, Boggle, goop (or nertz)... there is ALWAYS a game to join and extras are ALWAYS welcome.  Pull up a chair and you're in on the next round.

We are also a family of praisers.  Several years ago we had family reunion tshirts made that were captioned "a weekend of praising and grazing" and that captures the spirit perfectly.  Our Christian heritage is RICH and also musical, so at any given time you can hear some instrument being played and voices being raised.  Part of the weekend includes what we call "Share Time" and it's an opportunity for us to give testimonies of what the Lord has done in our lives the past year.  Some events, like the passing of my sweet niece Karis in February, rock the entire family.  Others, like new job opportunities, are news to many of us and give us a chance to get filled in with the details -- everybody all at once, instead of  having to tell the story 20 times :)

But in addition to all the fun and fellowship, for ME this weekend is also a foretaste of Heaven.  In fact, when my kids were young and asked me what Heaven was like, I compared it to the Lodge weekend.  All of your family is together in one place and is happy and hugging and laughing, there is plenty of food and fun, there is always somebody to catch up with, and at any given moment you will hear voices singing and praising the Lord Jesus.  Everybody will have their own places to retreat to, but it's so much fun being together that you're drawn to the group. Yes, there will be jobs for us (so don't be surprised and think you'll be playing a harp and sitting in the clouds all day), but the work won't be toilsome because you'll be doing it WITH those you love FOR those you love.

I've missed the past two thanksgiving weekends because I was recovering from surgeries, and not being with the family was more painful than the belly full of stitches!!  So this year was particularly precious to me, but it was also bittersweet because we were all missing Karis.  As we were singing on Friday night, my heart was torn as we sang contemporary praise songs and familiar old hymns such as "Amazing Grace" and "I'll Fly Away."  Two of my grandmother's favorite hymns were "When We All Get To Heaven" and "Glad Reunion Day," and as we sang those songs my eyes met those of my Uncle David and Aunt Lula whose eyes also brimmed with tears.  I knew we were all thinking of Karis, and as the tears spilled down my cheeks I envisioned the day when we all got to Heaven and had the ULTIMATE family reunion.

And NOTHING will compare to that, not even the Lodge!