Happy Thanksgiving?

For almost four hundred years Americans have celebrated Thanksgiving. This year will go down in history as different from all other Thanksgivings in the past century. It is still the fourth Thursday of November as Franklin Delano Roosevelt declared it to be in 1941. We’ll still have Turkey with all the trimmings, pumpkin pie, and the Macy’s Day Parade. But it will be different. Different in a way few of us have seen in our lifetimes.

In 1620, the Pilgrims proclaimed the Mayflower Compact, which would become the basis for America’s Declaration of Independence. This was a scant year before the first ever Thanksgiving. And if you were in any doubt as to this country’s roots, check out what the Mayflower Compact says. I’ve been out of school for many, many years and didn’t remember it or what it said. But after listening to a Thanksgiving message last night from one of my favorite Bible teachers, Jack Hibbs, I looked it up, and our nation’s colorful history enthralled me.

What the pastor reflected upon was the genuine act of Thanksgiving. We have lost sight of what is truly important. What do we have to be thankful for this year? Given all that Americans have suffered and lost, it doesn’t seem like there’s much to be thankful for.  And while I understand the need for all the changes to our national holiday this year, I don’t have to like it. Not at all.  And yet there are things to be thankful for. Like what you ask.

Family? Spending time with family will be relegated to telephone calls, FaceTime, Zoom, or any other method we can come up with to see and spend time with family. I am thankful for those methods we have at our fingertips to see and talk to loved ones. That we even have loved ones who we can call is a blessing and a cause to be thankful. Some do not. Yes, I’m exceedingly thankful for my family.

Friends? Again, being able to wish our friends, whether they be near or far, a Happy Thanksgiving is a blessing. Having Facebook to extend wishes is also a blessing. Something we didn’t have twenty years ago and beyond. Many states have put restrictions on who and how many can visit on this holiday, but we can make the best of it by using those tools we have at our fingertips to contact and stay in touch. Yes, I’m extremely thankful for friends and the tools available to me to reach them.

Provision? In a time where there are nations who are starving, we have an abundance of food in our pantries and freezers. Restaurants who will make your Thanksgiving meal. I’m thankful for a well-prepared meal, even if I have to prepare it myself. It’s not about the turkey and trimmings or having a day off from work (some even have two days off.)  It’s about Thanking God for His Provision in our lives.

Jobs?  With so many small businesses shutting their doors, my heart aches for the business owners and their employees now out of work. I wish it hadn’t happened, but it has. I pray those who have lost all will have it returned to them tenfold. I am thankful my husband has a job and is working from home. God has truly answered that prayer for us, and for that, I’m incredibly thankful.

Health?  This one is tough because we all have been touched by the virus that runs rampant across our nation.  But we can be thankful for those doctors and nurses who have put their lives on the line to care for our loved ones. And if we escaped the virus, all the more reason to be thankful. Yes, I’m thankful for our continued good health.

So.. we return to the core of why we celebrate Thanksgiving. Opening the door to our hearts will enable us to give thanks for those things in our lives. Search for something in which to give thanks this day, and every day.

And above all, give thanks to the creator.

Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!
For His mercy endures forever.

1 Chronicles 16:34