On Gratitude & Celebrating Thanksgiving
Photo by Matt Hardy from Pexels
November is upon us and that means we’re approaching one of America’s beloved national holidays: Thanksgiving! We gather with family and friends, eat plentiful amounts of food, watch parades and football games, and, hopefully, remember to count our blessings. After all, Thanks-giving is about “giving thanks.”
In the wider culture, however, gratitude seemingly is often not the emphasis. Rather a kick-off of holiday sales with hurried and urgent advertisements emphasizes getting, buying, consuming. This commercial rush can leave us feeling harried and exhausted and can send our FOMO into overdrive.
While there’s nothing wrong with taking advantage of shopping sales (especially in these fraught economic times), we shouldn’t forget to reflect on what Thanksgiving truly means and why and how we should implement a more intentional practice of gratitude in our lives the whole year through.
Growing up, we’re taught about the legendary first Thanksgiving at Plymouth where the early Pilgrims and Native Americans (without whom the settlers would not have survived) joined together in a feast of rejoicing and thanks.
Later on in our country’s history, President George Washington issued a proclamation, which read, in part, that he was recommending, “to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God.’”
Even later, in the midst of the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln officially declared, “the last Thursday of November next as a Day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the heavens.”
These formational presidents believed gratitude to be important enough to merit a national holiday. But really, why should we be consciously thankful?
Scripture tells us:
“Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.” (Psalm 107:1)
“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above.” (James 1:17)
“Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” (Thessalonians 5:18)
“This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” (Psalm 118:24)
These Biblical quotes seem to assert that gratitude is our duty. I think believers and non-believers alike would acknowledge that we do owe gratitude to all who have assisted us. We should be grateful to and for our families, friends, teachers, mentors. We should be thankful for experiences that have taught us lessons or brought us joy, for gifts given out of love and thoughtfulness. For believers, God is the ultimate source and origin of all blessings, and thus, it is only just to give Him thanks.
Gratitude also cultivates humility by reminding us that no gift, no talent, no accomplishment is solely our own. Other people’s time, encouragement, material assistance, etc contributed to our good fortune.
When we practice gratitude, our joy and peace of mind increase because when it’s not only about us, we don’t have to be self-conscious or inordinately competitive. We can be content.
Author G.K. Chesterton wrote, “I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought, and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder.”
Gratitude is clearly an integral and necessary part of a good and full life. What are some concrete ways we can show gratitude, not only at Thanksgiving, but all the time? It’s really very simple.
01 | If you are a praying person…
End your day by thanking God for all the instances of His grace and mercy that you experienced that day.
02 | Offer words of affirmation and sincere gratitude.
Rather than merely a perfunctory ‘thank you’, when you are the beneficiary of someone’s kindness, no matter how small or large the service rendered.
03 | Set an example.
Teach your children, students, nieces and nephews, whatever young ones may be in your care, to show thanks to those around them.
04 | Revive the practice of writing ‘thank you’ notes.
It’s a polite and considerate way of showing gratitude that demonstrates you truly care and is certainly more personal than a text or email (though either of these is better than nothing). A person’s handwriting is unique, and so to take the time to hand-write a note of thanks is to imbue it with a bit of our very selves, as dramatic as that sounds. Moreover, a note or letter can be a keepsake of past moments and milestones.
05 | Pay it forward.
Lastly, a grateful recognition of your own blessings can lead you to “pay it forward” and to be more generous with your time, your money, and your compassion towards others.
In short…
In the midst of our Thanksgiving feasting and holiday shopping, let us also prioritize gratitude and strive to live with a thankful heart in all seasons.
