Thanksgiving Day is a holiday that is celebrated all across the nation. This holiday was first celebrated in 1621, when the Plymouth colonists from England and the Native American Wampanoag people shared an autumn harvest feast.
It later became established as an annual event to encourage people to focus their thoughts on their thankfulness for the gifts, joys, and even challenges in life.
And yet, within the last decade or so, there seems to have developed an oxymoron of sorts. On Thursday people will be expressing thanks for what they have. But then on Friday, many will be rushing to stores for “Black Friday” sales to shop for more things they don’t have.
What happens to the thankfulness that will have been expressed just the day before? It is forgotten less than 24 hours later.
A sign of the times? Probably. We live in a time of the ever-present sound bite. Attention spans have grown shorter. If you doubt this, note how short any one camera angle remains on the television or movie screen before it changes. Most are no longer than 8 seconds.
We seem to live in a culture of amnesia. We tend to forget what was important a moment ago in order to focus on what is coming next. What is in the past is no longer important. If you doubt this, when was the last time you offered prayers for the people whose lives were devastated by Hurricanes Helene and Milton? The news is no longer focusing on their plight. It’s almost an “out of sight, out of mind” situation.
On Thanksgiving Day, offer your words of thanks to God. Give thanks for the good news you have received, the good gifts you have received, the love and joy that has come your way.
Also, give thanks for those occasions that may have challenged your life because, even though you may have been challenged emotionally, spiritually, or physically, growth has taken place. You grew and matured from them.
I recommend not being in too much of a hurry to get past giving thanks for what you have, only to ignore what you have for something better yet to come. Remain in the present. A hasty “thanks” isn’t very meaningful. Nor do words of thanks followed by a mad grab for more sound very sincere.
