Gratitude
By John W. Vander Velden
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Thursday is one of the big holidays, Thanksgiving. For most it will mean too much food, watching football, and perhaps a day or two off. There is nothing wrong with time spent with family and friends. Nothing wrong with having a special meal. Nothing wrong with watching the game. And certainly nothing wrong with about having a deserved day off. But hopefully that is not where the holiday ends.
Our society seems most focused on all we have not achieved or accumulated. The ads aim to entice us, to yearn for the brightest, newest. Certainly the things that fill our lives are insufficient. It is our nature to desire those things just beyond our reach. In many ways that desire drives us to work harder, and with hard work we may improve ourselves. But we must take care that we do not become a society of malcontents, never satisfied, certain we have not received our fair share, or dwelling upon the past and what seemed better days. Look around…take stock…realize all that makes up your life. Surely we are surrounded by so much for which to be grateful. Should we not take quiet moments to reflect…to be grateful for all the blessings of our lives, counting our blessings and among them…love and family…things that money can not purchase.
One day a year is too seldom to consider the good things in our lives, but perhaps Thanksgiving allows a chance to build a grateful heart…and a grateful heart is open to the needs of others. Too often the suffering masses of our planet find themselves ignored; rarely does their plight penetrate our busy lives. Surely the homeless and hungry should not be forgotten or ignored. As we open our hearts to others in their need, our perspective changes. We come to better appreciate all we have and find a willingness to share with the less fortunate. Is that not what Thanksgiving really means…to be grateful and to care.
So on that day of food and football, we should take time to quietly reflect...to be grateful… grateful for all the blessing of our lives. And for those of us of faith, let us take time to earnestly thank the Master of the Universe for all good things.
May you have a happy Thanksgiving and a heart filled with gratitude…
(393Words)
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Good thoughts, John! One important noteworthy part of Thanksgiving to me, is that we are challenged to give thanks in one accord - that everyone in every station of existence is reminded to be grateful for what is, for life itself. The day of thanks does not intend to make us complacent or to blind us to inequities that should be amended, but the act of gratitude recalibrates our hearts, resets our priorities, and refocuses us on the positive. Thanksgiving is a chance, once again, to know that all human beings share a common experience, fragile and precious, tenuous yet enduring. And, in our gratitude, we find shared hope. thanks for taking time to challenge us to do that.
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