Giving Thanks

As we celebrate Thanksgiving with family and friends, stuffing ourselves with delightful dishes and desserts, most of us will feel a sense of gratitude for the many blessings we enjoy. Even for the busy cooks among us, juggling giant turkeys and the countless sides that accompany them, there is at least one moment in the day that gives us pause. There's a moment, perhaps when the kids or grandkids are wrestling apart the wishbone, that we feel in the depths of our hearts the blessings we have.

Maybe we think how blessed we are to have a family at all, or how blessed we are to be able to enjoy such a bountiful meal in a safe, warm home. While we don elastic-waist pants to accommodate our overindulgence, there are many who would give anything just to come in from the cold and rain and eat the crumbs left on our plates. While we watch football on TV and contemplate that second slice of pumpkin pie, there are those too sick and frail to even get out of bed. While we make our Black Friday shopping lists, there are children for whom Santa Claus and Christmas gifts are faraway fantasies. While we enjoy a good slumber with full bellies, there's a soldier standing guard a world away from all that's familiar, having long forgotten what a good night's sleep feels like. While we dream, the families of fallen soldiers from generations past and present quietly shoulder the sacrifices made so that you and I have the freedom to celebrate Thanksgiving at all.

We know we are blessed, and our gratitude is abundant on a day such as Thanksgiving, but what do we do with our gratitude? Serving others, perhaps in a homeless shelter or by inviting a lonely neighbor to dinner, is a lovely way to reflect God's command to love one another. But even if our observance of the day is confined to the walls of our own homes and families, we should take time to be kind to one another, choosing compassion and forgiveness over rivalries and resentments. Above all, we should remember the most important of dinner guests, our Lord Jesus. Christ broke bread with His disciples before sacrificing Himself on our behalf. The least we can do is make room for Him at our table of abundance.

This Thanksgiving, before we partake of the Great American Feast, let us remember the One who has granted us the blessing of such an occasion. Let us remember the One who has blessed us in life on earth, and has promised blessings beyond our imagining in eternity. Let us give thanks first, last, and always to our Lord Jesus Christ.

Happy Thanksgiving with love!