So many of my childhood memories center around the Thanksgiving holiday. We usually spent the day
with my dad’s side of the family. My dad’s maiden aunt would host the family gathering at her house. If the weather cooperated, the children would be sent outside to play while the men gathered in the living room to watch football on TV. The women busied themselves with getting the meal ready to serve and setting the tables. Our large group required more than one. There wasn’t a bad cook in the bunch. Plenty of food and so much to be grateful for.
In my opinion, Thanksgiving Day is one of the best holidays of the year. A day that was set aside for the specific purpose of showing our gratitude for God’s multitude of blessings. What began as a religious observance for our community has become a blur of Black Friday sales as we take down the Halloween decorations and replace them with Christmas decorations. That saddens me.
Even with all the struggles and hardships we deal with daily, there is reason to count our blessings. On December 26, 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed a bill making Thanksgiving Day a National Holiday. The fourth Thursday of November was set as the date of observance. We had just entered WWII. A fearful and trying time for our grandparents and parents. Still, they found reason to be grateful to God.
My prayer is that we each take a breath, clear our minds, and thank the Lord for blessings in our lives. I would like to share a poem that I came across:
Count Your Blessings
Count your blessings instead of your crosses;
Count your gains instead of your losses.
Count your joys instead of your woes;
Count your friends instead of your foes.
Count your smiles instead of your tears;
Count your courage instead of your fears.
Count your full years instead of your lean;
Count your kind deeds instead of your mean.
Count your health instead of your wealth;
Count on God instead of yourself.
Count your friends instead of your foes.
Count your smiles instead of your tears;
Count your courage instead of your fears.
Count your full years instead of your lean;
Count your kind deeds instead of your mean.
Count your health instead of your wealth;
Count on God instead of yourself.
— Anonymous
Dear Lord,
Thank You for all you have given me. In this Thanksgiving season, I pray that loved ones, present and past, will share space in my heart as new memories are created.
Dear Lord,
Thank You for all you have given me. In this Thanksgiving season, I pray that loved ones, present and past, will share space in my heart as new memories are created.
