THANKSGIVING
Most every Thanksgiving week, I like to revisit this wonderful book by historian Dr. Robert Tracy McKenzie, who gives us fascinating insights into the first Thanksgiving and the plight of the Pilgrims. Interestingly, there are very few surviving firsthand accounts of the first Thanksgiving in 1621 in large part because the Pilgrims were simply trying to survive in the new world. While the Pilgrims were indeed thankful, we have certainly embellished how pleasant the very first Thanksgiving would have been. They had many hardships to endure and life was not easy.
This serves as a valuable reminder to us that in spite of whatever challenges we may be currently facing, Thanksgiving, both as an annual observable day and as the way we should live life, gives me the following perspectives I’d like to share with you –
1) Every day we have to live is a gift, and for this, we are thankful.
2) We truly are blessed beyond measure, for how can you measure the immeasurable goodness of God?
3) Thanksgiving is a way of life. It should be the ethos (character) that propels our gratefulness in the moment and fuels our optimism for tomorrow.
4) Thankfulness is the antidote for the cynicism that is all too pervasive in our culture. In this case, you do not fight fire with fire. You fight pessimism with gratitude.
5) Even a little bit of thanksgiving goes a long way. You may find that the circumstances of your life are especially dire right now. Should this be where you are currently at, whatever thankful spirit you can muster up just might be the impetus to give you an entirely new outlook.
Happy Thanksgiving 2022, and may the Lord bless you!