Insights

I’m thankful for cheese.

Now, many of you might have uttered a boisterous “amen!” in response to reading that, almost like a Pavlovian reflex. Some of you might think, “that’s the best opening since ‘Call me Ishmael!’” But those of you that know me are sitting there very, very confused because I’ve never been shy about my thoughts on sliceable dairy: I dislike it with a fiery passion. Can’t stand the taste, the smell…even touching it to make a grilled cheese sandwich for my kids gives me the heebie-jeebies. However, you can dislike something and still be thankful for it.

To set the scene, we were having lunch at Escalantes on Sunday and my kids had ordered cheese enchiladas. As the meal was winding down, my oldest discovered that the cheese/queso combination on his plate had *shudder* congealed/firmed up a bit, and he could stab it with a fork and end up with tines full of milk-turned-evil. He started showing it to me, and couldn’t contain his laughter, especially with my overly dramatic response. This, in turn, caused my daughter to start laughing. Sensing that something fun was happening, but not really sure why, my youngest began giggling uncontrollably. A fork full of cheese ended up being the funniest part of my day, and a joyful moment in a week that honestly had been devoid of them.

So yeah, I’m thankful God made cheese. I’m thankful my kids think it’s funny to taunt me with it. I’m thankful my kids are comfortable enough to laugh and make jokes with me, and know that I’m a safe space. I’m thankful my youngest enjoys laughing just for the sake of laughing. I’m thankful that the waiters and waitresses kept standing by our table with smiles on their faces, enjoying a bit of the joy my kids were exuding.

As we take this next week off (again, the proper response is a reflexive “amen!”) and focus on being thankful, I want us to push past the surface level platitudes and obvious answers. We can be thankful for anything, because our thanks go to God, the Creator of all things (even cheese). Paul says we should give thanks for all things (Eph. 5:20), not just the things we like. This is because God is in all things (Eph. 4:6)...the things we like and the things we dislike, the big and small, the “important” and “not important.” When we adopt this mindset, we glorify God and show others His goodness. 
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Psalm 7:17
I will give thanks to the Lord because of his righteousness;
   I will sing the praises of the name of the Lord Most High.

Dr. Jason Henderson
Secondary Education Principal
Logos Preparatory Academy