Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving,
a federal
holiday in the United States is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November. It
was declared a special holiday in 1863 by President Lincoln. He proclaimed it
to be a national day of "Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwells in the Heavens."
This
day has always been a special day in my life. Even as a child, I remember that very
early in the morning, my Mom would start the fire in the old coal burning stove
and begin the long day of preparing a special meal for the family. Most of the
time, the main course would be the largest chicken that we had and would be
served because we could not afford a large turkey for the family.
Our family would gather around the table
and as hungry as we were, we would take turns giving thanks for something
special. Then, Dad would pray a special prayer thanking God for all of His
blessings. Dad loved to pray and as a child, I would always hope that Dad
remembered how hungry we were and pray a short prayer. However, he put more emphasis
on God’s blessings than the growling of hunger in our stomach.
Thanksgiving Day has a different meaning
to each of us. To some it is a special day to be off work and relax around the
TV and watch all of the football games. It may be a day of parades and to others
it is a day set aside to visit family and enjoy some special family time. To others, it is a special day to give thanks
to God for His bountiful blessings. It is also a great time to say thanks to
special people.
Unfortunately,
we live in an entitlement society where so many people believe they are “owed”
the blessings and is never taught the importance of expressing gratefulness. We
see this also in an episode in the Bible where Jesus met ten men that were lepers.
They asked Jesus to have mercy on them. He told them to go and show the priests
that the leprosy was healed. All were healed but only one returned to show
gratitude to Jesus. Jesus asked, "Were not ten
healed? Where are the nine? Can none be found to come back and give glory to
God except this outsider?" [1] A good
question for us to ask this Thanksgiving is, “Am I one of the nine? Or am I the
one?” Every day should be a day of Thanksgiving. A song and a pledge that we used
to sing says: “All that I am, all that I
have, all I shall ever be. Cannot repay the love-debt I owe. I surrender to
thee.”[2]
Pledge to
the King
I pledge allegiance to the King of Kings;
Creator of all, Master of all things.
My source of life, with each breath I sing,
Resounding praise with voice and string.
He set me aflight from broken wing,
To lift me upward and healing bring.
I vow to honor, whatever entailing,
My provider, Protector, love unfailing.
I pledge allegiance to my King of Kings,
Jesus Christ, my Lord, my everything.[3]
This
Thanksgiving, along with all the festivities, take time to say, “THANKS.”
HAPPY THANKSGIVING
