Thanksgiving

Another “Thanksgiving” has come and gone, and another opportunity to reflect on life's many blessings has passed us by. The time for reflection is over, and the time for reality has set in.

For many, this reality is filled with lives spent lamenting what they do not have instead of focusing on what they do have. A holiday celebrating having much to be thankful for seems foreign in a world where some people see their lives as anything but blessed.

This is because “Thanksgiving,” like seeing any blessings in one’s life, is relative to the individual, and each of us determines whether we are thankful.

This is where the truth rears its ugly head: If we are honest, “Thanksgiving” starts and ends with us.

It starts by asking if we believe we have a reason to be thankful. This may lead to other questions, such as why we should be grateful since we do not have as much as someone else or have not received recognition and acknowledgment for who we are and what we have accomplished.

These questions can lead us to begin to feel anything but thankful. They may lead us to be bitter and ungrateful. Here is where selfishness and desire can cause us to miss the point of “Thanksgiving” entirely.

We must believe in gratitude, or we will never be grateful. As I survey my life, I see the blessings of a wife, children, and grandchildren I love and who love me. I see my siblings, friends, and co-workers with whom I get to do life. Here is where selfishness can open our eyes if we look at what we have instead of what we do not have.

When we do, it is hard not to be grateful. This has nothing to do with material things and everything to do with the power of love and the gift of love given to each of us.

This is reason enough to be grateful, but there is more.

You are loved by a Savior who died so you can live and one who has gone to prepare a place for you and will return someday. “Thanksgiving “is birthed when we recognize that this love is despite who and how we are, not because of who and how we are.

It is tough not to be grateful when faced with this reality.

As with everything, the choice is ours. We can see life as a disappointment when we measure it against what others have and things we have not attained. Or we can see how much we have in the way of the opportunity to live and love, to give and share, and to hold and be held.

It isn’t difficult, but it does require a new paradigm. We must start seeing life as a gift and not a burden. We must see relationships as an opportunity, not a hurdle or hindrance. When we do, everything changes.

Suddenly, “Thanksgiving” is as natural and essential as breathing.

I will close by saying I am thankful to my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, for allowing me to remember all the reasons I have been given to be thankful. I hope you will, too!

2 Corinthians 4:15, “All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God”.