Jean Leon Gerome Ferris [Public domain or Public domain]
Voices of Thanksgiving
by Tiffany McGinnis
“Thanksgiving is an emotional holiday. People travel thousands of miles to be with people they only see once a year. And then discover once a year is way too often.”
– Johnny Carson
Thanksgiving is one of our most adored national holidays cherished by thousands. It’s a day where we count our blessings and reunite with loved ones. Yes, I know you have heard this before so that’s why I’m here to change it up. I am going to shed some new light on Thanksgiving: Intertwine some Bible truths with Thanksgiving praise. Something we should REALLY think about this year. Let’s start with the quote…
So how many of you can relate to Carson’s quote. We all have those people in our family where we just have to smile, nod, and make polite conversation with them. But wait! This is supposed to be a holiday where we are thankful, not dreading to see some of our family. This is the point God is trying to make. We are far from perfect and admitting we are sinful is the foundation for salvation.
“The Pilgrims made seven times more graves than huts. No Americans have been more impoverished than these who, nevertheless, set aside a day of thanksgiving.”
– H.U. Westermayer
Wow! Now this quote made me stop to think. The Pilgrims risked everything they had to start a new life in America and paid dearly for it. Yet, they set a whole day aside to give thanks to God for what little they had. Now let’s be honest. We can’t understand what being truly thankful is unless we’ve been humbled enough to lose the things that we hold most dear. Some of us have been there, but most Americans haven’t. Everyone has heard “we are so blessed in America” and we are. We just don’t realize how much because we haven’t been exposed to devastation. That’s one thing to be thankful for – not being able to comprehend how blessed we really are!
“Be thankful for what you have; you’ll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you will never, ever have enough.”
– Oprah Winfrey
Some of us have experienced devastation and there are two ways to deal with it. We can sit back, give up, and just admit our lives are miserable. On the other hand, we can stand up, keep going, and focus on the good things we do have. Like Winfrey said, if you start to focus on the good things in your life you will start to notice them more, but if you focus on the bad things in your life then you will always be searching for more when hope is right there in front of you.
The roots of all goodness lie in the soil of appreciation for goodness.
– Dalai Lama
What does this mean? It means that Thanksgiving is not just a day to be thankful for the things we have but rather the fact that we have them. We can all be thankful for our house, our family, our cars, and all our lovely china that we only use on special occasions but do we ever appreciate the hard work we put into making those things a reality? We can always be thankful for the things we see but what about the fact that we can have all these things to be thankful for?
Thanksgiving, after all, is a word of action.
– W.J. Cameron
Thankfulness is the appreciation for something, but thanksgiving is the act of appreciation. Thanksgiving is not a time where we just sit back on our couch after eating dinner and think about all the good things we have. It’s a day to SHOW that we are thankful.
Appreciation can change a day, even change a life.
Your willingness to put it into words is all that is necessary.
– Margaret Cousins
Like I said earlier, Thanksgiving is a day to SHOW your thankfulness. Telling others just how much you appreciate them, even the small things, could mean more to them than you will ever know. All it takes is some courage and time to say it. You could give hope and joy to someone just by telling them they’ve given encouragement to you. That’s it! You could even go a step further and go out of your way to give them some encouragement too.
Thanksgiving day comes, by statute, once a year; to the honest man, it comes as frequently as the heart of gratitude will allow.
– Edward Sanford Martin
Thanksgiving isn’t a day; it’s a choice to show your thankfulness. It’s a decision we have to make every day. It’s the outer expression of God’s love inside of us. Will you let it out not just Thursday, but every day?
King and Country I choose Joy
Happy Thanksgiving and may God bless you!
