Recently, I had a conversation with a friend who told me she would be hosting Thanksgiving at her house for the first time. She was lamenting a bit, looking ahead at how much work a dinner like Thanksgiving entailed. It came about because this year, unlike others, her mother told her she no longer had the necessary energy to host the annual family feast.
Much of the initial trepidation the oldest daughter conveyed had little to do with the amount of work and more about the complicated dynamic of realizing her mother is growing older. The responsibility of the Thanksgiving dinner was only an example of the many tasks she might be required to do for her mother in the coming years. It does shock grown children when traditions once held by their parents now become theirs.
Very quickly, however, the conversation and attitude of the woman began to change dramatically, and the focus moved from lament to nostalgia. She emphasized her childhood memories of how nice the house smelled with a turkey baking in the oven and how she was excited to recreate that memory in her own home and with her family. She began to reflect on the many gifts she has received and how grateful she is, especially the gifts of her faith and those individuals God has placed in her life.
Reiterating her sentiments, God has given us many things, including family and friends. Those individuals enable the “law of reciprocity” to happen, whereby we receive love, and we love in return. Thanksgiving, therefore, is not about a poultry feast, independence, or football games but rather a recognition of the many gifts given out of love, whether that love is divine or human.
To give thanks to God is a theme that used to run deep within the American psyche. By thanking God and those close to you, the beautiful message of gratitude can be passed on to future generations as it did at our country’s founding.
As early as 1789, President George Washington, following the suggestion of Congress, proclaimed the newfound country of America should give thanks to God Almighty for the many gifts he had given to the nation: “Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor . . . [and] to recommend 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.”
During the Civil War, when the country was in chaos and mourning, President Abraham Lincoln intentionally reminded citizens that the country was based upon God’s providence and worthy of our praise and gratitude even during trying times.
The days when our public leaders recognized Almighty God as the source of our national and personal prosperity have unfortunately been replaced by the absurdity of colonization and slavery. Then, some care more about turkeys than human beings who claim Thanksgiving is a holiday that brutally kills 46 million birds to satisfy the feasts across the nation. These are nothing more than attempts to eliminate God and crush tradition and the rituals needed to thank him for his generosity.
The faithful are strong and believe in his promises, knowing that using turkeys for food is neither wrong nor morally reprehensible. “God made every kind of wild animal, every kind of tame animal, and every kind of thing that crawls on the ground. God saw that it was good. Then God said: Let us make human beings in our image, after our likeness. Let them have dominion over the fish in the sea, the birds in the air, the tame animals, all the wild animals, and all creatures that crawl on the earth.”
There is a cacophony of voices in the public today aimed at denouncing Christianity and shaking faith by spurious and absurd claims. Don’t let them ruin Thanksgiving when you should especially thank God and one another by sharing the bounty God has given you. Before you take a bite, follow our predecessor’s example by thanking God.