Pastor's Corner: What is true Thanksgiving?

We have just celebrated one the most beloved holidays of the year, Thanksgiving. So, what does thanksgiving mean?

The definition by Oxford is broken into two parts as follows: 1. the expression of gratitude, especially to God. “He offered prayers in thanksgiving for his safe arrival" 2. (In North America) an annual national holiday marked by religious observances and a traditional meal including turkey. The holiday commemorates a harvest festival celebrated by the Pilgrims in 1621 and is held in the U.S. on the fourth Thursday in November. A similar holiday is held in Canada, usually on the second Monday in October.

Now that we have a definition, what were we thankful for? Most of us probably sat down to a dinner and it enjoyed it surrounded by family and friends. We probably ate so much that we felt like the bird, stuffed! We may have sat around watching some football or we may have played a game or two. I’m sure that whatever you did, it was enjoyable for the most part. I would like to think that we are grateful for what we have.

Let’s stop and think about others on this day for a minute. Think of someone who may have been on the street because they had nowhere to go. Think about someone who may have been in a bad situation and ended up in the emergency room. Or maybe we need to think about a person who just experienced domestic violence and now is in a shelter for protection. What about someone who made a bad choice and now they find themselves incarcerated? All of these different types of situations don’t sound like very much fun do they? I wouldn’t want to be in any of those, but the reality is anyone of us could be in the blink of an eye. Life changes very quickly.

I have thought about these situations because I have known people who have been in every one of them. I had thought to myself, how would I handle it? I am really not sure how I would and for most of us we can’t imagine ourselves in any of them. This led me to some of my favorite scriptures.

Paul writes in Philippians 4: 5-7 these words: The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

I hope you realize that even though Paul was writing to the church of Philippi and reminding them to not lose faith but to stand firm, he himself was in fact incarcerated. How could anyone be thankful for that? Paul was. He shows us through his writings, because he is writing to us, that no matter what happens to us, we should be thankful. Like I mentioned earlier, life changes very quickly and we should not just show our thankfulness or gratefulness on one day of the year, but we should be thankful each and every day we have. God showed us His true love by sending us His son to take on our sin. That for me is the greatest thing anyone could ever do for me. So, what do you say? Let’s be thankful for every day we get, no matter the circumstances, because each day is a gift from God.

Blessings,

Roman Hank