Thanksgiving

I love food. It’s hard not to love Thanksgiving. A national celebration for putting ourselves into a food coma just seems like the greatest thing ever.

I know many people today will probably be writing on how we should be thankful, thankful for our family, our friends and our nation. Thankful for the gifts that we have been given, thankful for those who have given of their lives and their time to make that possible. That is all very well and good, and we should indeed be thankful for all of these things. They may even mention God, and that is even better.

In a way though, it often makes me sad. We create a long list of good things, and forget the main thing. Our list includes so much stuff, and it is indeed great stuff, but it’s not really the important stuff.

Don’t get me wrong, I am in no way saying anything on your list is something you shouldn’t be thankful for, especially as it refers to the people in your life, and the sacrifices others have made for us. Far from it. And maybe turkey and football is the right way to celebrate those things.

There is something at the root of all this though, and that is you. You exist. God loved the idea of you so much, that He had to bring it into reality. Every moment of your being is a direct gift from God, and if there is anything we should be thankful for, it is that. Breath, life, experience, existence. This is the greatest gift of all, and it is a gift so great, that would should remember it at every moment of every day.

Here’s why I think this is an important thing to remember today. It is easy for us to think of Thanksgiving as a time to count our blessings, as if to notice that not everyone has been given these blessings. Bless us for having a home, for others don’t, bless us for our bounty, for others lack, bless us for our families, because many are alone. This is all true, but do you see what this does? It put the value of life on things and prosperity, and though our relationships are of great importance, even they are not the main thing.

Life is the main thing, God’s gift of life. We are all given very different kinds of life, and each of these kinds of life are full of the beauty and glory of God, willed for enteral life in Him. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying we shouldn’t help others, quite the opposite, but measuring our blessings in this way seems short sighted to me.

You have many things to be thankful for, certainly call them to mind this week. You have many important people in your life, they too are a blessing, and you should recognize that. May have sacrificed for you, honor them.

Most of all, take a deep breath, and thank God that He is with you now, and that He loves you so much, that He brought you into being. Then, realize He loves everyone around you that much too, and show them by loving them as much as He does.

Enjoy your turkey. I’ll certainly enjoy mine.

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