The holiday we call Thanksgiving is over. The gobbler has finally been gobbled, the pumpkin pie has been woefully reincarnated as cellulite, the relatives have traveled back home (and all God’s children said, “Amen!”), and we’re now in the thick of the economy-stimulating frenzy that has become the Christmas season.
But before we completely leave this most recent holiday behind, I have a rhetorical question for you (the kind you don’t have to answer out loud – just ponder it and then simmer in the guilt for awhile): Is Thanksgiving supposed to be about one day of the year … or a foundational philosophy of life?
I was reading some old emails the other day and came across one that made me chuckle. It was a collection of entries from a newspaper contest for youngsters who were asked to come up with “deep thoughts.” Here’s what one 15-year-old submitted:
“Once I wept for I had no shoes. Then I came upon a man who had no feet. So I took his shoes. I mean, it’s not like he really needed them, right?”
This teen writer, so aptly reflecting the self-obsessed, opportunistic philosophy of our day, obviously missed the point of the noble saying he was attempting to parody, i.e., we really shouldn’t wallow in self-pity because there are always folks out there who have it worse than we do.
But reading this email was timely for me, as I needed at that particular moment to be reminded that I always have MUCH to be thankful for. Always.
In fact, with even the very slightest mental effort, I can come up with a rather huge list of things for which I am thankful, and it’s just scraping the surface — foremost, a personal, eternal relationship with God through Jesus Christ; a husband who loves me and loves God; two wonderful sons; good parents who gave me every opportunity to succeed; caring and loyal friends; a vibrant church; a comfortable house with hot water, electricity and indoor plumbing; clothes; food; clean water to drink; a reliable car; all the advantages that come from living in the most prosperous and free nation in the world, … and on … and on … and on the list could go.
It’s so easy to take it all for granted, to focus on what’s wrong, instead of what’s right; what’s broken, instead of what’s fixed; what we’ve lost, instead of what we still have; the people who’ve hurt us when we didn’t deserve it, instead of the people who’ve loved us when we didn’t deserve it; the “shoes” we don’t have, instead of the “feet” we still have.
In our culture of “more” and “bigger” and “new,” it’s a battle to be humbly grateful for what we have. And we really do have a lot.
So, no matter what the calendar says, make today Thanksgiving. And get up tomorrow and do the same thing … and the next day … and the next (although, for the sake of your cholesterol level, you might want to skip the feasting part).
And remember Who to thank, because the blessings themselves are only part of the joy; knowing the One who blesses is even better.
“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights …” – James 1:17.
“Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” — 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18