Putting The "THANKS" in Thanksgiving

Today is Thanksgiving.

When we think of Thanksgiving, some of us will be looking forward to football. Some of us might be looking forward to lots of good food. Others may look forward to spending time with friends and family we don’t see very often.

What is special about Thanksgiving, is it's simply a day we take out of all the others to celebrate that for which we have to be thankful.

In our modern, more than slightly cynical society, it is more common to aggrandize the negative. Cynical, in fashion terms, is the new “black.” So a holiday celebrating the things we have to be thankful for may not be embraced, but it should be.

Perhaps this is the real message we should take from Thanksgiving, not only to be thankful for the things it’s easy to be thankful for, but to be thankful for those things which go unrecognized.
I happened onto a story of a man who could have easily been the poster child of “unthankfulness” after his sweet life turned bitter almost overnight. This individual had it all. He enjoyed good health, was extremely wealthy, was blessed with a large family and was well thought of in his community.However, within a 24-hour period, much of this man’s possessions were either stolen or destroyed. His family was all but wiped out by a tornado. Not long after the man’s health failed, both physically and emotionally. Seeing his good fortune disappear, his friends did likewise. Even his wife rejected him.Amazingly, this man who literally lost everything but his life, never lost his faith.The star of this story is a man who lived approximately 4,000 years ago. His name was Job. And while Job’s life is frequently cited as example of faithfulness to God, I believe Job was a man who frequently counted his blessings, even when the number of them dwindled.

If you’re at a point in your life where you feel justified in not being thankful, I pray these words will help: He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has.

So as you spend time with family and loved ones this Thanksgiving Day, remember to give thanks not only for those things for which it’s easy to be thankful, but to also be thankful for the things which may go unnoticed and unappreciated. You’ll feel better if you do.

purrs,