Thanksgiving is a beautiful season to focus on the harvest, the bounty, and the beauty that nature displays in such vibrant, amazing colours.
Traditionally we may gather with family and friends around a table laden with turkey, stuffing, sweet potato casserole, and pumpkin pie with that extra dab of whipped cream. Another tradition that may be shared around the table is expressing what we are thankful for before saying the blessing over the meal.
Did I just describe a scene from a typical Hallmark movie?
What if our life isn’t all sunshine and roses? What if we had to go to a food bank for our Thanksgiving supplies? Would we be grateful if our home, or our crops were wiped out by fire, hail, floods, or a tornado? What if the loved one who had shared the table with us last year is no longer present?
How easy it is to say an obligatory “thank you” to God when our needs are abundantly met, but can we keep an attitude of gratitude in the hard and lean times … and will we? We all experience times in life when the words “in everything give thanks” will present a challenge.
There is an example in Scripture which shows that often, even in our abundance, we neglect to take the time to remember that every good and perfect gift comes from God.
In Luke’s Gospel account (ch.17), we read that Jesus was travelling between Samaria and Galilee towards a village where ten men who had leprosy stood at a distance and begged Him to pity them. Jesus told them to show themselves to the priests and as they went, they were cleansed. Can you imagine how that played out? The ugly ulcers and horrible skin lesions that had covered their bodies disappeared as they were walking. They experienced it together, as a group, but only one of these men, a Samaritan, returned to give thanks. He could be heard from a distance, praising God before he fell at Jesus’ feet in worship and thanksgiving. Jesus told the man that his faith had made him well. Jesus asked where the others were as He pointed out that this man, a foreigner, was the only one who came to express gratitude for his healing. Can we surmise that this display of ingratitude saddened the heart of Jesus?
May our attitude of gratitude not be limited to a single day. Let’s take the time to slow down and focus on how blessed we are.
“Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful” (Colossians 3:15).
Have a blessed Thanksgiving!
Susan Page is the daughter of the King, His beloved child, wonderfully forgiven and blessed! Susan longs to age gracefully, becoming more like Jesus as she seeks the hidden treasures revealed to her through Scripture, literature, the arts, humankind, and nature.