Thanksgiving is coming up next week, and I thought I would jot down some thoughts on the subject. You see, Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday…

Of course it has a long history and tradition going back to the very beginning of Colonial America, and if you want to be entirely accurate it goes back much further than that. 

First Thanksgiving; Image via Wikipedia

To me, however it really isn’t so much about history as it is about what it is supposed to be: a day to give thanks to God for all of His many blessings.  Giving thanks to God for His blessings is a basic part of what it means to be a Christian, and it is something that we should be doing on a daily, even continual basis; it is the foundation of humility and service to God and Man… it is utterly indispensable.

George Washington and Abraham Lincoln appear to have understood this, and certainly Sarah Hale understood it as well…

Sarah Hale's letter to President Lincoln requesting a Thanksgiving observance; Image via Wikipedia

Yet in our modern world, most of us seem to have forgotten all about this concept.  In a world full of bling, swagger and pride, not to mention trash talk and pure profanity is there still room for humility and thanks?

I’m going to be content to leave the sociology questions to the professors for a minute and talk about my world: In my little world, thanksgiving and humility are basic; how about yours?

I cannot imagine starting off a day without consciously thanking God for His blessings and giving Him the praise that He is due. I cannot conceive of a person having a relationship with Him absent the sense of awe and wonder that leads a person to a continual attitude of thanksgiving… can you?

To keep this short, let’s just agree that on this year’s Thanksgiving Day that we will not lose sight of what we are pausing to remember: That God has blessed us in countless ways, and that we as His humble servants wish to give Him all of the credit and glory that He has earned.   As we spend time with family and friends, feasting, laughing and enjoying ourselves, may we keep perspective about what Thanksgiving is all about: Giving Thanks!

Giving Thanks; Image by Јerry via Flickr