Thanksgiving is more than that big feast between Halloween and Christmas. It’s also one of the most aptly named holidays EVER. The whole thing is right in the title – thanks giving.
Not thanks taking, this is not the time to pat ourselves on the back for a harvest well done or a turkey that isn’t drier than toast. This is the one day a year we set aside to do an even better job of what we should do every day: be grateful. Thank God for all the good things that we enjoy.
Just listing off all the things to be thankful for makes it harder to wallow in whatever went wrong. It’s a good way to center ourselves. It helps us see that life isn’t all shades of doom and gloom and that even when things are legitimately bad that there is still good in life. Try being depressed when you enjoy a warm bath or a sunny moment. We humans need that refocusing on the good in life.
Now, if we’re smart, we will credit the God Who loves us with all the wonders He showers into our lives. It’s soo easy to focus on the bad – that stuff hurts you know! Sure, it’s impossible and probably a bad idea to focus on anything but that angrily screaming toe right after it found the concrete curb. Might need to tend to that. But did you notice later that the nurse took extra time to get you some aspirin when the doctor was delayed? Did you breathe a sigh of relief and say a little prayer of gratitude when it turned out not to be broken? How about that delicious banana split you treated yourself to because you didn’t cry when the nurse gave you that shot?
You know you did – we all have to have that ‘after shot’ treat, don’t we?
How awesome is it to live where you can get an ice cream sundae 24/7/365? If the ice cream isn’t in the freezer, Dairy Cream is just down the street. Conveniences that we never think twice about that so few people in this world even know exist. Prosperity doesn’t really cover how insanely rich the US is. Our poor people have iPhones.
Sure, we need to work on poverty – just because it’s not as big a problem here as in the Third World doesn’t mean we can or should ignore it – but we also need to be grateful for our incredible, beyond belief abundance.
Don’t minimize ‘first world problems’. People in pain because of the fear of losing a home are in real pain. That’s yet another reason why we should always count our blessings and be grateful for all the good things – it makes us all the more aware of those in need or suffering.
Awareness is pretty useless. I’m aware of the wind but it seems unconvinced that it should stop messing up my hair. Awareness is only stage one of fixing a problem. Now, I can tell that old wind off but that has never really worked. Tying a scarf around that new hairdo does a whole lot more good. It’s not enough to be aware of the problem or to complain about it; to solve the problem you have to do something about it.
When you’re only aware of your own problems and see no blessing in life, all you see is a tidal wave of trouble that can’t be stopped. Not taking time to count our blessings and to express our gratitude for them keeps us from seeing that there is light at the end of the tunnel. If there is light, there is hope. If there is hope then there is possibility. If there is possibility, then getting off your tuff and doing something CAN change things.
It can change your life. It can get you to solving your problems. More importantly, it can get you to helping others solve their problems.
Wanna make the world a better place? Start by being genuinely grateful. That attitude of gratitude will get things moving in a way that gloom and doom never, ever will.
List every thing good you have. A roof over your head and a full belly should not be discounted but go further. What makes you happy in the moment? Ice cream, sunshine, space comedies, that one really comfy spot on the sofa – whatever it is, be sure to include it. And be one of the smart kids.
Thank God for it.
Happy Thanksgiving, Y’all!
