Giving Thanks

I've been a little reluctant to post about Thanksgiving since I'm sure the topic has already been addressed by most people this week. Even so, I'd still like to share some thoughts about gratitude and giving thanks since I have been blessed with so much.

Several years ago I was going through a very hard time. I was having financial setbacks, stress, and was very depressed and discouraged. One evening I was feeling sorry for myself since everything seemed to be going against me. At that moment I felt impressed to make a list of the things I was thankful for. I reluctantly started the process of counting my blessings and by the time I finished, I had several pages of evidence why I should be happy and grateful despite the less than ideal experiences I was going through.

Most people living in developed countries take luxuries like running water, electricity, and heating for granted. I can only imagine how much of our day would be spent in survival mode if we didn't live in civilizations that have the infrastructure to take care of these important things for us. For many of us, the challenge we deal with is deciding how we are going to entertain ourselves in our free time. By the way, reading Chaka's World is always a good option since it is free and doesn't take too much time.

Despite our screwed up government and political corruption, we are still blessed with freedoms, rights, and privileges that others could only dream of. I'm grateful for the order that governments provide and that we have security and protection and are not just a bunch of tribes and gangs trying to fight for the necessities we need to survive.

I'm sure we all have challenges and set backs and are wanting in many areas of our lives, but focusing on what we do have and being thankful for those things can improve our quality of life. I really believe that having an attitude of gratitude makes us more receptive to God's blessings.

Some people might think that Thanksgiving is a gluttonous time of eating, but I think the annual practice of feasting is very appropriate since it reminds us how richly we've been blessed with an abundance of things. I am also a big fan of food so I'd probably be all for it even without the symbolism.  I hope you all have a great Thanksgiving with your friends and family. I also hope we can remember to be grateful for all that we have all the other days of the year too.