” Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. ” – James 1:17
It’s one week until Thanksgiving and I thought I’d try writing another post. This time of year always seems to be so hectic, so full of busyness. The big gathering of family and friends around piles of food has been a tradition in my home since I was a child. Each year my Mom’s family would come to our house and we’d set up long tables that stretched through our living and dining rooms. There was always so much food and so many desserts but the best part was seeing people you didn’t get to see very often. When my parents split up, these gatherings ceased. I remember there were attempts to continue in other family members homes. We all grew older, and moved on and got busy or had our own families after that.
I’m not sure how many years I’ve been hosting my family in my home, but for at least as long I have lived there, so about 18 years. Typing that just now was like, wow, 18 years! My table wasn’t as full as the tables back when I was a child. It would be my parents, my grandmother, my siblings, our partners and later our children. I never take these moments with my family for granted. These are precious memories being made. Over the years things tend to change. People move away, or they swap holidays between 2 families or even pass away and your guest list gets smaller. This year my table will be full of familiar faces and I know good times will be had and bellies will be full.
While we think of all the cleaning we need to get done, all the cooking and prep work we need to do and in the process start to feel overwhelmed with the tasks, let’s stop and think about Thanksgiving and giving thanks to our Father God. People might think of Thanksgiving for different things. Maybe they just celebrate food and/or time with family or friends. Maybe some people remember the Puritans (or Separatists), and others, that left England on the Mayflower for the New World in hopes to practice their religion freely. Once there they established a new colony at Plymouth and signed the Mayflower Compact. The 1st winter was especially hard and many died. The first Thanksgiving was held the following harvest in 1621 when Governor William Bradford declared December 13, 1621, would be a day of feasting and prayer for the new harvest, the new freedom, and all God had done for them. The guest list included the colonists as well as Native Americans who’d become allies and taught them needed skills. The feast lasted 3 days. Good thing ours doesn’t last that long!
Perhaps maybe some of us might focus on just that aspect, giving thanks to our God Almighty who’s given us so much. We can find praises and activities in the Bible demonstrating giving thanks to our Creator. Just read through the Psalms to find many. We must not only give thanks to God on one legal holiday which was provisioned by Abraham Lincoln, but we must give thanks daily.
“Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in everything; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. ” 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
If we stop the busyness of preparing for our families to come, and preparing a huge feast of food, we can remember what true Thanksgiving is about. It’s not about your guest list, it’s not about the food, it’s not about how you’re going to fit it all into your little house. The first Thanksgiving was about thanking God for providing and so should ours be. We have much to be thankful for each day. If we are believers in Christ we can be thankful to have assurance of eternal life as God has promised us. We can be thankful that God loves us so much that he made a provision for us, his son Jesus Christ. We can be thankful that God never leaves us or forsakes us and that he provides to us our needs. Yes, we can even be thankful when we go through troubles in our lives because we can know no matter the outcome, God is with us every step of the way. Don’t let the world’s idea of the Thanksgiving holiday cloud you. Every day, not just Thanksgiving, should be a day of thanking God for all he’s done and continues to do and that his word is truth and we can know it. Give thanks that God has redeemed us through his son Jesus Christ when we accept his gift.
” Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts. And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. ” – Ephesians 5:18-20
What are you thankful for today? Write it down, shout it out, praise the God of all creation for it. Study the life of our redeemer who shows us all how to live a life of gratitude; a life of thankfullness and than thank the Father, thank the Son, thank the Holy Spirit and be sure to share your thankfulness with others as they sit at your table with piles of food in front of them that God provided.
“Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth! Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into his presence with singing! Know that the Lord, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name! For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.” – Psalm 100
*Note that Scripture references are taken from any of these translations, NIV, NLT, ESV or CSB.