An Attitude of Gratitude

MANY OF US heard the story in elementary school about the "first Thanksgiving." We learned that the Pilgrims, after their first harvest in the New World, gave thanks to God and celebrated with a three-day feast. Not only did they enjoy the food and festivities among themselves, but they shared their bounty and their joy with Native Americans.

Later, records indicate that the New England colonists regularly celebrated "thanksgivings." These were days of prayer for blessings for such things as military victories, recovery from illness, or the end of a drought.

The first official Thanksgiving holiday was declared in 1863 by President Abraham Lincoln. He proclaimed, "Thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens." The date was in the middle of the Civil War: Thursday, November 26.

In more recent years, the U.S. Congress decided that Thanksgiving Day should be officially celebrated annually in our nation on the fourth Thursday of November.

And so, most of us celebrate the holiday - a day of leisure! We are able to take a day off work; we gather with family or friends; we enjoy a traditional Thanksgiving feast with turkey and all the trimmings; we watch football; and we just generally have a great time. But, are we truly mindful of thousands of blessings? Do we truly have a spirit of thankfulness for all our provisions? Do we sincerely have an attitude of gratitude?

In her book of devotions entitled Jesus Calling, author Sarah Young says, [as if speaking for the Lord] "A thankful attitude opens windows of heaven. Spiritual blessings fall freely onto you through those openings into eternity. Moreover, as you look up with a grateful heart, you get glimpses of Glory through those windows. You cannot yet live in heaven, but you can experience foretastes of [an] ultimate home. Such samples of heavenly fare revive your hope. Thankfulness opens you up to these experiences, which then provide further reasons to be grateful. Thus, your path becomes an upward spiral: ever increasing in gladness."*

What about you? Are you a person with a grateful heart, realizing how blessed you really are? Many of us fall short in the area of gratitude.

Consider some examples of things to be thankful for: life itself, health, strength, energy, spirit, food, clothing, shelter, family, friends, acquaintances, education, a job or retirement, leisure - and the list goes on and on.

Although we officially celebrate Thanksgiving in November, in reality we should be thankful every day - all year long. May we follow the admonition as recorded in Psalm 118:1, "Thank God because he's good, because his love never quits." (The Message)
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*Young, Sarah. 2011. Jesus Calling. Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson, 341.