“The RoseBouquet”

What do you prefer to eat for your Thanksgiving feast?

Because wild turkeys were said to be in abundance when the early American pilgrims settled in what later became New England, it has become a tradition in many homes to roast a large turkey to share. Some people today are fussy about whether they will eat white or dark meat from a turkey and some folks won’t eat it at all. They would rather have ham, or venison, or even chicken, or no meat at all. They stick to a vegetarian diet altogether.

Let’s take a totally different look at the thanksgiving turkey. We may amuse ourselves, and we may end up learning a good moral. First, a quick review of some basic facts about turkeys.

Observations About Turkeys:
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The wild turkeys could fly, but were fast runners. They ran at speeds up to 55 miles an hour.

These are large meaty fowls, now largely raised on farms for their meat and eggs. Their running may be curtailed quite a bit.

Like chicken, their meat is lower in cholesterol, thus better for us, and the dark meat contains some fat, making it more tasty.

The meat also contains tryptophan which sets off a chemical reaction in our digestive system that makes us sleepy. Now you know!

Turkey eggs are tan and speckled with brown and twice the size of chicken eggs.

When turkeys reach maturity they can have as many as 3,500 feathers.

The male turkey, called a Tom, is more colourful in feathers. He also has a brightly coloured fold of skin hanging from his bill and along his neck called a wattle. With some imagination you can think of him as a gentleman with a long beard.

Turkeys are raised to give up their lives so that others can have joy at a celebration.

Let’s use some more imagination and see in what ways you and a turkey have things in common.

Ways You and I are Like Turkeys
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In your younger years (wild period) you could probably move at an amazing speed too. Just think of how much you ran around and all the activities you took part in.

Now that you are more mature you are probably focused on productivity, and walk instead of running from A to B. The work you do has more quality to it and probably gives you more joy. At least when you stop to think of it objectively, right?

I venture to guess it doesn’t even take turkey meat to make you sleepy after a big meal. Any hearty dish will do it to you. (Notice I’m blushing myself).

If we compare turkey eggs to your children, they may not look flawlessly white, but they have sure grown, and are your pride and joy.

You may not have 3,500 feathers, but if you are like me, you are dressing warmer and in multiple layers when you go out. Us older birds just need more insulation than the younger ones do.

If you are a male, you may be doing things to be seen as a gentleman of importance - perhaps a mustache or beard, and if that doesn’t work, more flamboyant clothes?

Here is the trickiest part; are you willing to give up your life so that others may have the joy of a good celebration? A turkey is raised to die for others. Do you exercise self-sacrifice to the nth degree?

We know that Jesus did, and He urged us to put others first too. May every turkey meal we eat remind us of this, and may God show us just how to ‘die’ so that others may have ‘joy.’