Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated in Canada and the United States as a day of reflecting and giving thanks and gratitude for all our blessings. It is celebrated on the second Monday of October in Canada and on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States. It became an official holiday in the United States in 1863 during President Abraham Lincoln’s tenure.
When looking back at our nation’s focus on gratitude and thanksgiving to God, it can be disheartening at times to see all the distractions of Thanksgiving Day today. Besides the feasting, of course, we have football and early Christmas shopping so it is very easy to lose sight of the original intent of this day.
We are all surrounded by innumerable blessings, but many times we are not paying attention and end up taking these blessings for granted or missing them all together.
Here is a Thanksgiving prospective that brings this all into focus.
One day, the father of a very wealthy family took his son on a trip to the country with the express purpose of showing him how poor people live. They spent a couple of days and nights on the farm of what would be considered a very poor family. On their return from their trip, the father asked his son, “How was the trip?”
“It was great, Dad.”
“Did you see how poor people live?” the father asked.
“Oh, yeah,” said the son.
“So, tell me, what did you learn from the trip?” asked the father.
The son answered, “I saw that we have one dog and they had four. We have a pool that reaches to the middle of our garden and they have a creek that has no end.
We have imported lanterns in our garden and they have the stars at night. Our patio reaches to the front yard and they have fields that go beyond our sight. We have servants who serve us, but they serve each other. We buy our food, but they grow theirs. We have walls around our property to protect us; they have friends to protect them.”
The boy’s father was speechless.
Then his son added, “Thanks Dad for showing me how poor we are.”
Isn’t perspective a wonderful thing? Makes you wonder what would happen if we all gave thanks for everything we have, instead of worrying about what we don’t have.
The Apostle Paul said “…I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.” Philippians 4:12
Happy Thanksgiving from Growing in Grace! Enough said.
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Happy Thanksgiving