It’s My Favorite

    A while back, I was having a conversation with my son when he said something that shocked me. Now when you think of teenagers, you might respond with, what don’t they say that isn’t shocking? But that day, we got on the topic of which holiday was our favorite, and his answer took me by surprise. His response: Thanksgiving Day. I assumed that all people under the age of 18 would have picked some other holiday (i.e. one involving presents and/or candy). But my heart warmed as I realized we had this in common. And as we continued to speak, I realized we held some of the same reasons for our preference.

   Why might you ask is Thanksgiving Day our favorite holiday? The main reason is because there’s not a focus on gifts. So many other holidays and their true meanings have been lost by the distraction of gift-giving. It’s Christmas, where’s my gift? It’s Easter, where’s my gift? It’s Casimir Pulaski Day, where’s my gift? (You have to be from Illinois to know who Pulaski was and the majority of Illinoisans still don’t know him). The point I’m trying to make is the reason we celebrate holidays shouldn’t be a result of receiving gifts from others or that we get a day off from work or school. But too often, this is the case.

   But on Thanksgiving Day, no one’s expecting any gifts. Thus, it clears the way for all of us to focus on what the real blessings in our lives are…family, friends, health, food, shelter, & clothing (And I’m not referring to something with ‘Aeropostale’ stitched on it either!).    

    Now, there should be giving on this holiday, but it should be the ‘giving’ of thanks. In other words, the time building up to Thanksgiving Day (unlike other holidays) isn’t filled with the stress of having enough on our credit cards in order to purchase items that our loved ones will forget about in a week. And it’s not filled with the pressure and guilt that accompanies those moments we run in to an acquaintance and we moan to ourselves, ‘There’s another person I have to shop for now!’ as we jump in the car and run back to the store. We come together at Thanksgiving with the express purpose of only receiving the gift of the other person’s company. Let’s just spend time together. Put aside the concerns and busyness of all the other days, and let’s just stop and share our gratitude to God and others for what their presence in our lives has meant to us.

   We have a tradition in our family of going around the table and conveying how thankful we are for whatever it is that God has blessed us with in the past year. If you’re not doing something like this, please allow me to encourage you to start a similar tradition in your own family. I’m surprised at how young our children are when they first started recognizing the blessings in their lives. Furthermore, the Bible tells us that it’s God’s desire for us to be thankful. “Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” 1Thessalonians 5:16-18 NIV

   Giving thanks shouldn’t be limited to just one day either. This passage tells us that ‘in all circumstances’ we should give thanks. Imagine if people always practiced thankfulness and gratitude all year long. Could you imagine what that would look like…Thanksgiving Day every day! We’d probably get sick of turkey, stuffing, and gravy, but you get my point. Always be thankful and grateful for the blessings you have because the day might come when you don’t have those blessings around anymore.

   Also, don’t wait for Thanksgiving Day. Why don’t you make the call today, and tell someone how blessed you are to have them in your life. And while you’re at it, why don’t you speak to God and thank Him for the blessings as well. Ultimately, all of those gifts come from Him anyway (see James 1:17).

   All this about Thanksgiving and I haven’t even mentioned my wife’s pies! She makes the best Chocolate French silk crème pie and vanilla crème pie you can imagine. Oh! And we can’t forget about the football games we get to watch while trying to stay awake with all of the tryptophan circulating in our systems. Can you tell I love Thanksgiving? I hope you enjoy yours too! Have a blessed one and thanks for reading.