With each passing year, Thanksgiving becomes less and less recognized. Merchants haul out Christmas decorations, and advertisers warn of supply chain issues and shipping delays, while encouraging early shopping.
I love Christmas—it’s meaning, observance, and celebration, but ignoring Thanksgiving on a November Thursday, and year-round, is a misstep.
Giving thanks is an action that is as overlooked as the observance of Thanksgiving Day. What is the significance of Thanksgiving for you—a day to gather with family and enjoy good food? Or is thanksgiving an attitude to be cultivated and practiced?
This week, consider turning your thoughts toward gratitude in the following areas:
Heritage
A friend recently told me he had never encountered an extended family who love each other the way our family does. I am blessed to be part of a family, both my father’s and mother’s, going back generations, that modeled and taught integrity, generosity, honesty, love of family and country, and honoring and obeying God. Increasingly, I am more aware of what a good gift it is to have a loving family.
Not everyone experiences the gift of a good family. If you have a good heritage, or you are building a new and better heritage for those who come after you, give thanks.
Bounty
We are surrounded by bounty, not only with food, shelter, utilities, and products, but also resources and various forms of grants and aids. Yet we are impatient complainers, who yell at customer service representatives or food service personnel and criticize rather than looking for positives in others.
Is your list of complaints endless and your gratitude journal empty? Gain forward motion by looking for what is positive in situations, and in others, and focusing on sources of gratitude. Recognize the bounty we enjoy and give thanks.
Health
Perhaps now, more than ever, we understand the value of health in light of a two-year pandemic. Many did not survive the virus because they did not place priority on healthy eating and exercise or engaged in body-damaging habits. Others have health conditions beyond their control and suffer in ways most of us don’t relate to or understand.
Good health is one of our greatest blessings, yet one we often take for granted. Give thanks for your health.
Nature
At this time of the year, the glory of nature is on full display for us to savor. But each season has its own beauty for us to enjoy, beauty which we often ignore as we blow through the busy-ness of our lives. Nature has the ability to calm, soothe, and bring peace. Renew your mind and spirit by spending time in nature and give thanks.
Freedoms
We enjoy a wealth of freedoms in America, liberties that many around the globe do not experience. We can gather, speak our opinions openly, worship without fear of arrest, conduct business, travel where we please when we choose, and generally live life undeterred. Do we truly cherish these freedoms?
The Pilgrims came to this country to escape religious persecution. In the fall of 1621, they were clinging to life, having lost over half their original population through disease or starvation in less than a year’s time. The Pilgrims hosted the first feast to celebrate survival and give thanks to God for His provision in difficult circumstances. Gratitude was their underlying motivation.
Remember our many freedoms with gratitude. Enhance your positivity and gain perspective by making thanks-giving a year-round practice, an attitude of the heart.
“Let joy be your continual feast. Make your life a prayer. And in the midst of everything be always giving thanks, for this is God’s perfect plan for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 5:17-18 TPT).
©CandyArrington
Candy Arrington is a writer, blogger, speaker, and freelance editor. She often writes on tough topics with a focus on moving through, and beyond, difficult life circumstances. Candy has written hundreds of articles, stories, and devotionals published by numerous outlets including: Inspiration.org, Arisedaily.com, CBN.com, Healthgrades.com, Care.com, Focus on the Family, NextAvenue.org, CountryLiving.com, and Writer’s Digest. Candy’s books include Life on Pause: Learning to Wait Well (Bold Vision Books), When Your Aging Parent Needs Care (Harvest House), and AFTERSHOCK: Help, Hope, and Healing in the Wake of Suicide (B&H Publishing Group).
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