The Greatest Thanksgiving Isn’t on the Table—It’s at the Cross
By Tylia Flores
There is something about November that has always felt special to me.
Maybe it is seeing Thanksgiving decorations appear. Maybe it is thinking about families gathering around tables. Maybe it is the familiar food, the conversations, the laughter, the traditions, and the memories that seem to come alive again every November.
Or maybe it is simply because Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday.
But as I have gotten older, I’ve realized that my love for Thanksgiving goes much deeper than turkey, green bean casserole, family traditions, or having another reason to gather around the table.
Thanksgiving represents something deeply personal to me.
It represents gratitude.
It represents family.
It represents memories.
It represents stories.
It represents faith.
And most importantly, it reminds me of the One I have the greatest reason to thank:
Jesus Christ.
November also begins with another day that means a great deal to me as a storyteller—National Author’s Day on November 1.
So this month, I want to talk about both.
I want to talk about what it means to me to be an author.
I want to talk about why Thanksgiving keeps finding its way into the stories I write.
I want to talk about why Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday.
But ultimately, I want to talk about why the greatest Thanksgiving of all isn’t something sitting on my table.
It’s found at the Cross.
National Author’s Day Means More Than Having My Name on a Book
Every November 1, National Author’s Day gives us an opportunity to celebrate authors and the stories they bring into the world.
For me, however, being an author is about much more than seeing Tylia Flores printed on the cover of a book.
Writing has been part of my life for years.
I’ve written through different seasons of my life. I’ve written through happiness. I’ve written through disappointment. I’ve written about faith, disability, relationships, family, heartbreak, healing, and finding purpose.
Sometimes writing has allowed me to say things that were difficult to express any other way.
Other times, writing has simply allowed my imagination to run free.
But the older I become, the more I realize that storytelling is more than something I enjoy doing.
I believe it is one of the gifts God gave me.
And when God gives us a gift, I believe we have a responsibility to ask ourselves:
How can I use this gift for something bigger than myself?
For me, the answer has become clearer.
I want to tell Stories That Heal.
I want someone to read one of my stories and feel less alone.
I want the person living with a disability to know that disability does not erase purpose.
I want the person whose heart has been broken to believe that healing is possible.
I want the person struggling with faith to remember that Jesus hasn’t disappeared.
I want people to see imperfect characters walking through imperfect situations while discovering love, grace, hope, and faith.
And if one of my books encourages one person to keep going, pray again, believe again, or turn toward Jesus, then those words have accomplished something far greater than simply filling pages.
So on National Author’s Day, I am thankful.
I’m thankful for every idea.
Every character.
Every chapter.
Every finished manuscript.
Every reader.
Every person who has supported my work.
And even every blank page—because a blank page means there is still another story waiting to be told.
Why Thanksgiving Keeps Appearing in My Books
If you have followed my writing for a while, you might have noticed something else about me:
I love Thanksgiving stories.
That probably isn’t surprising considering Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday.
Over the years, Thanksgiving has appeared again and again in my storytelling.
There is The KFC Thanksgiving, featuring Nadine and Eric Joseph “Joey” McWhorter. That story captures something I love about Thanksgiving: the holiday doesn’t need to look fancy or traditional to become meaningful.
Sometimes love and gratitude show up somewhere unexpected.
Sometimes Thanksgiving doesn’t look like the picture on the greeting card.
And that’s okay.
I’ve also written my 2012 Thanksgiving story featuring Soledad Evangelina Florez and Austin Honeycutt. Soledad loves Thanksgiving even more than Christmas, and that story brings together so many things I enjoy writing about—faith, family, long-distance love, anticipation, food, and the feeling of finally being close to someone you’ve missed.
Then there is my Thanksgiving hospital story featuring Bethany Blanca “B.B.” Sepúlveda and Austin David McCord.
A hospital certainly isn’t where most people dream of spending Thanksgiving.
But that is exactly what makes a Thanksgiving story set there meaningful to me.
Because gratitude doesn’t require perfect circumstances.
I’ve explored Thanksgiving through other stories and ideas, too—from fried turkey and family dinners to unexpected visits and people finding ways to be together when circumstances try to keep them apart.
I keep returning to Thanksgiving because the holiday gives me so many of the things I love writing about:
Faith.
Family.
Food.
Home.
Love.
Memory.
Hope.
Gratitude.
And yes, usually some romance too!
But underneath all of those things is something deeper.
When I write about Thanksgiving, I am really writing about the moments we don’t realize are precious until they become memories.
Why Thanksgiving Is My Favorite Holiday
People have favorite holidays for all kinds of reasons.
For me, Thanksgiving has never needed the excitement of Christmas presents or the fireworks of the Fourth of July.
There is something beautiful about a holiday whose central idea is simply:
Stop. Look around. Remember. Give thanks.
Life moves incredibly fast.
One November becomes another.
People grow older.
Families change.
Relationships change.
Children become adults.
People move away.
New people become part of the family.
Some chairs around the table become empty.
Other chairs are added.
Traditions change.
And sometimes you don’t realize how precious an ordinary moment was until years later.
That is one reason Thanksgiving means more to me now.
Thanksgiving reminds me to pay attention.
Pay attention to who’s sitting beside you.
Listen to the story you’ve already heard a hundred times.
Take the picture.
Laugh at the joke.
Enjoy the food.
Tell someone you love them.
Tell someone you’re thankful for them.
Put the phone down for a little while.
Look around the room.
Because someday, what feels like an ordinary Thanksgiving afternoon may become one of your favorite memories.
Thanksgiving Is About the People, Not the Perfect Table
I love Thanksgiving food.
I love the traditions.
I love everything that makes the holiday feel like Thanksgiving.
But I’ve also learned something:
The people around the table matter more than what’s on the table.
A perfect Thanksgiving dinner means very little if we forget to appreciate the people God has allowed us to share it with.
Sometimes the most meaningful Thanksgiving doesn’t happen around a beautifully decorated dining-room table.
Sometimes Thanksgiving happens in a hospital room.
Sometimes it’s takeout.
Sometimes it’s KFC.
Sometimes dinner doesn’t turn out exactly as planned.
Sometimes somebody arrives unexpectedly.
Sometimes you’re separated from someone you love.
Sometimes you celebrate on another day because that’s the only time everyone can be together.
And sometimes Thanksgiving is simply two people sitting beside each other and realizing:
We’re here. God brought us through another year.
That’s enough reason to give thanks.
Gratitude Goes Far Beyond One American Holiday
There is something else I think we should remember when November arrives.
Thanksgiving may be a particular holiday tradition in the United States, but gratitude isn’t American.
Gratitude is human.
People around the world express thanksgiving, gratitude, hospitality, family, harvest traditions, prayer, and remembrance in different ways.
The foods may be different.
The languages may be different.
The traditions may be different.
The music may be different.
The prayers may sound different.
The tables may look completely different from ours.
But the desire to recognize what we’ve been given crosses cultures and borders.
And for Christians, thanksgiving goes even deeper.
Jesus Christ is not the Savior of one country.
The Gospel isn’t American.
The Cross doesn’t belong to one culture.
Christians worship Jesus across nations, languages, ethnicities, and cultures.
Some believers will never celebrate the American Thanksgiving holiday.
Yet they can live lives filled with thanksgiving because Christian gratitude was never supposed to exist only on the fourth Thursday of November.
It is supposed to become part of who we are.
First Thessalonians 5:18 tells us:
“In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”
That verse challenges me.
Because giving thanks when everything is going well is easy.
Giving thanks when life gets complicated is different.
Gratitude Doesn’t Mean Pretending Life Is Perfect
There have been difficult seasons in my life.
There have been disappointments.
There have been moments when I didn’t understand God’s timing.
There have been prayers that didn’t receive the answer I expected.
There have been times when the road God allowed me to walk looked completely different from the road I would have chosen.
Being thankful doesn’t mean pretending those experiences didn’t hurt.
Christian gratitude isn’t pretending pain doesn’t exist.
It is recognizing that pain doesn’t get the final word.
Sometimes gratitude sounds joyful:
“Thank You, Jesus!”
Sometimes gratitude comes through tears:
“Jesus, I don’t understand this, but I’m still trusting You.”
Sometimes it’s:
“God, this isn’t what I wanted, but thank You for staying with me.”
And sometimes we don’t have a beautiful prayer.
Sometimes all we can say is:
“Jesus.”
And He hears that too.
What Being Able by Grace Means to Me
This is where something else that has become central to my life comes in:
Able by Grace.
Those aren’t simply words attached to a ministry.
They describe something I have learned personally.
Second Corinthians 12:9 says:
“My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.”
There have been times when my strength wasn’t enough.
There have been things I couldn’t control.
But grace isn’t about proving how strong we are.
Grace points us toward how strong God is.
Sometimes God’s grace changes the circumstance.
Sometimes His grace carries us through the circumstance.
Sometimes grace opens a door.
Sometimes grace closes one.
Sometimes grace gives us another chance.
Sometimes grace gives us a story.
And sometimes God takes the very story we thought would only contain pain and uses it to encourage somebody else.
That’s part of what Stories That Heal means to me.
My stories don’t need to pretend life is perfect.
They can acknowledge heartbreak.
Disability.
Loneliness.
Waiting.
Hospital rooms.
Long-distance relationships.
Family struggles.
Uncertainty.
But they can also point toward hope.
Because I believe God is still present in those places.
The Greatest Thanksgiving Isn’t on My Table
When I look at everything I’m thankful for, my list could become very long.
I’m thankful for being an author.
I’m thankful for every book I’ve had the opportunity to write.
I’m thankful for readers.
I’m thankful for ministry.
I’m thankful for the people God has placed in my life.
I’m thankful for love.
I’m thankful for purpose.
I’m thankful for memories.
I’m thankful for another November.
I’m thankful for another Thanksgiving.
But none of those things is at the very top of my list.
Jesus is.
Romans 5:8 tells us:
“But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
Before I wrote my first book, Jesus loved me.
Before ministry, Jesus loved me.
Before accomplishments, Jesus loved me.
Before titles, Jesus loved me.
Before I could offer Him anything, He loved me.
Jesus went to the Cross knowing exactly who we were.
He knew our sin.
He knew our failures.
He knew the times we would run away.
He knew the times we would doubt.
And He still chose the Cross.
Then He rose again.
Because of Jesus, forgiveness is possible.
Grace is possible.
Redemption is possible.
Salvation is possible.
Eternal life is possible.
So when I say Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, I eventually have to come back to this truth:
My greatest reason for thanksgiving isn’t something God put on my table.
It’s what Jesus did on the Cross.
Look Around Your Table Differently This Year
This Thanksgiving, I challenge you to do something.
Before worrying about whether everything is perfect, look around.
Really look.
Maybe somebody sitting at your table is an answered prayer.
Maybe somebody there walked beside you through one of the hardest years of your life.
Maybe you’re celebrating something you prayed about last Thanksgiving.
Maybe you survived something you weren’t sure you could survive.
Maybe God opened a door this year.
Maybe He closed a door that you now realize needed to close.
Maybe you’re still waiting for an answer.
Maybe there’s an empty chair this year.
If there is, remember this:
Grief and gratitude can exist in the same heart.
You can miss someone and still thank God.
You can cry and still worship.
You can hurt and still believe.
You can have questions and still trust Jesus.
So don’t worry about creating the perfect Thanksgiving.
Create a meaningful one.
Pray together.
Tell stories.
Share memories.
Thank God aloud.
Tell someone why you’re grateful for them.
Call someone who might be alone.
Feed someone.
Encourage someone.
Forgive someone.
Love somebody.
Serve somebody.
Tell somebody about Jesus.
Let Thanksgiving become worship.
National Author’s Day, Thanksgiving, and the Story God Is Still Writing
Maybe that’s why National Author’s Day and Thanksgiving feel so appropriate sharing the same month.
One reminds me to celebrate the stories I’ve been blessed to write.
The other reminds me to celebrate the story God is still writing with my life.
And I know He hasn’t written the final chapter yet.
So on National Author’s Day, I thank God for every story He has allowed me to tell.
On Thanksgiving, I thank Him for the people, memories, blessings, lessons, and grace that have filled my life.
But every day, I want to thank Him for something greater.
The Cross.
Because eventually Thanksgiving dinner ends.
The dishes get washed.
The leftovers get put away.
November turns into December.
Books eventually reach their final page.
But the story of Jesus doesn’t end at Calvary.
The tomb was empty.
And that changes everything.
So wherever you are in the world, whatever your table looks like, and whatever chapter of life you’re currently living:
Tell your people you love them.
Make the memory.
Take the picture.
Tell the story.
Use the gift God gave you.
Thank Him for what you have.
Trust Him with what you’re still waiting for.
And remember Jesus.
Because my greatest Thanksgiving isn’t on the table.
My greatest Thanksgiving is at the Cross.
And for that, I will always say:
Thank You, Jesus.
Happy National Author’s Day and Happy Thanksgiving!
May your November be filled with faith, family, stories, memories, gratitude, grace, and the presence of Jesus Christ.
With faith and gratitude,
Tylia Flores
Author • Pastor • Speaker
Able by Grace Ministries — Stories That Heal
Stay Connected
Thank you for spending part of your November with me. If you’ve been encouraged by this message, I’d love for you to continue following my journey through my books, videos, ministry, and podcast.
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Stories That Heal. Faith That Lasts. And through it all, Jesus at the center.
