Speaking of Thanksgiving…

Everywhere I go I hear people talking about their upcoming Thanksgiving plans.  Most of those plans revolve around other family members, i.e. brothers, sisters, grandparents, aunts and uncles, parents, cousins, children and grandchildren.  (Did I leave anyone one out?)  And food.  Imagine Thanksgiving without food.  Imagine all those people sitting at an empty table with barely enough food to sustain them.  Imagine a meager harvest and empty places at the table.  Times being hard made the early Colonists thankful to be alive and to have the harvest of their labor.

Our Founding Fathers followed their lead, making it a national day of thanks.   In 1789 George Washington issued this statement regarding the purpose of the Thanksgiving holiday.  He said it was “. . . to be devoted by the people of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the Beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be; that we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the people of this country..”

This has been a hard year for many of us.  the impact of the economic recession has been enormous.  Layoffs, the high cost of living, reduced commerce, accumulated debt, and rising mortgages have troubled many people of late.  In spite of this, we are grateful for much that is right in our lives.  If we have supportive family around us, that is something to treasure indeed.  If there is food in the pantry, we feel blessed.  A roof over our heads and a bed to sleep in are enormous blessings.  Perhaps we have more in common with the Pilgrims than we think.