Giving Thanks in America

Giving Thanks in America

Our daughter recently took a job (something to be thankful for) in a different town, so now she has her own place away from "the nest". Good. That means holidays like Thanksgiving are all that much more special. She came home for Thanksgiving. We've had a great visit.

It's a uniquely American holiday. There are other festivities which go by the same name. My knowledge is limited; I can't speak about them. I hope those celebrations are as meaningful as ours in the US. Historically, those we call the Pilgrims arrived on these shores, and had a really difficult time at first. After enduring hardship and heartbreak, they made it to a second year. With help from the locals, they began to prosper.

It's a fundamentally Christian holiday. These people gave credit to the Creator for all of it: food, family, and friends. They planned and prepared a meal to formally thank God for their blessings, and invited their new friends to join the party. Enshrinement of Thanksgiving by US federal and state government is obligated to be "non-sectarian", but the roots remain.

They were Puritans and their legacy became a major pillar in what would become the United States.

Give Thanks to God

Not to belabor the point about faith, if you're not a Beliiever, to whom are you giving thanks? Go ahead and have fun with family, make it a nice turkey day, but think about this.The natives were not (at least originally) Christian. Those early thanks-givers didn't beat their new neighbors over the head with the Bible. They simply invited everyone to come along. And so it is with us.

I'm not talking about a random diety of choice. What would be the point? See James chapter 1 verses 17 and 18.

I thank God for salvation, my wife, children, parents, in-laws, extended family. I also thank him for my job, which is truly amazing. (I should elaborate on God's hand in the job. That would make another blog post.) I thank God that I live in the US of A, where I can thank God without someone lopping off my head.

The day after Thanksgiving, we put up the outdoor nativity scene.
I thank Jesus for taking on flesh, living among us, and enduring the Cross.

-- R; <><