"Happy Thanksgiving!" How many times will we say this today? Think about it, though. Do we really consider what this means?
To say "Happy Thanksgiving" has become no more than a social ritual by which we unthinkingly greet each other during late November. It has the potential, though, to be so much more. Done thoughtfully, Thanksgiving has the power to change us.
Another word for thankfulness is gratitude, which comes from the Latin (and Spanish) word "gratis" which means "free." So what does gratitude have to do with freedom?
When we are grateful we realize that all we have has been freely given to us by the God who created us and loves us. Sure, we may have worked hard for what we have, but we need to remember who provides the resources for our work. The things we use in our work all, in essence, come from creation. Not one of us has the power to speak anything into existence. We all rely on something which exists as the basis of our work. We only build upon what God has given us.
Even our "intellectual" work depends on concrete items for its expression. Then, too, we need to remember Who gives us the intellect, ability and strength to work at all. Our very life itself is a gift freely given to us by the Father who loves us.
To be thankful is to recognize that I don't deserve what I have, and have a responsibility to share what I have with others. To give freely as it has been given to me. Pretty counter cultural, huh?
A second way in which thanksgiving (gratitude) frees us is to break the chains of anxiety, worry, stress which so strongly bind us in the 21st Century. When I contemplate why I am thankful, realizing that all I have and all I am is a free gift from my Father, when I seriously and consciously recall all He has done for me throughout my life, I realize that I have nothing about which to be concerned. God does not change. He Who has been faithful in my past will be no less faithful in my future. God's got this (whatever it is that causes you stress). Thankfulness helps us not only to believe this, but to find the freedom that comes from experiencing it.
Can I encourage you today to make Thanksgiving more than a holiday ritual, but to begin today to make gratitude a way of life? I know this is my goal.
So, when I say Happy Thanksgiving to you today, I will recall how blessed I am that God has brought you into my life. I will be grateful for how you impact me and our ministry. I will praise God for you and your very existence, and the fact that you choose to be my friend. You make my life richer, and I don't deserve (gratis) all that you are to me.
So:
Happy Thanksgiving!
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