Giving Thanks


Today is “Black Friday” and I’m sitting at my desk thinking about yesterday and what it means to me and how most of the history regarding Thanksgiving’s Day is all about has been rewritten. With Ripley’s birthday falling on Wednesday (Thanksgiving’s Day Eve) this year, I was very mindful how blessed Teresa and I are with a great child. I’ve written at length what a miracle baby she is; being born with malrotation and needing surgery at 10 days old. She is a walking miracle with only a faint line showing where the doctor opened her open (almost two years ago) to do his thing to make her insides right. God has my thanks for that and so much more. As a Christ-follower, I give thanks to God on a daily basis.

Thanksgiving’s Day is so much more than just turkey with the “fixings” (in fact, we had Cornish Game Hens yesterday instead) and spending time with family. It’s more than eating to much and watching footfall. It’s more than a “holiday” before the Christmas season. It’s about God’s people taking time to give thanks to Him for preserving their lives and blessing their colony in Massachusetts.

The day that we celebrate “Thanksgiving’s Day” was when the Pilgrims were giving thanks to God and not the Indians for preserving their lives from the harshness of the past winters and the fruitful harvest they had. It is true that the first winter the colony at Plymouth Rock, Mass, that half the colonists died. The following spring, the Indians did indeed show them how to grow food and hunt for beaver. The Pilgrim saw all this as God providing for His people. Their colony was based on what they read in the Old Testament and New Testament As God bless their endeavors, the Indians started to trade with them and since the trading was so successful, the Pilgrims were about to pay the companies that sponsored their colony back very quickly. The Pilgrims invited the Indian tribe to be part of the feast to show their appreciation for their assistance but at the same time showing them that God used the Indians to preserve them. The first Thanksgiving’s Day feast was a celebration and a witnessing tool; giving thanks to God and showing the Indians that there is a God and he loves His people.

Thanksgiving’s Day should be everyday for God’s people. I am thankful to God for:

Him dying on the cross in my place and drawing me to Himself and saving me at an early age.
Giving Teresa to me to be my wife and helpmate.
Giving Ripley to me to be her father and being able to watch her develop into a really neat little person.
Being raised in a Christian family (with both a Dad and Mom).
Giving me a purpose in my life and developing me into the man He will use to further His Kingdom.
Giving me a well paying job where He has used to supply a house, cars, food, and list can go on and on and on.

Once we start to mediate or think about how truly blessed we are, one day is not enough to offer thanks to our Heavenly Father. What are you thankful for? Tell God thank you.