A Thanksgiving Post

Has anyone else on Facebook had their feeds filled with people expressing thankfulness for something different each day through the month of November? Longest. Meme. Ever. 🙂

I didn’t choose to participate in that exercise this year, not because I’m ungrateful for at least 30 things, but mainly because I didn’t want to risk being self-indulgent with it. In other words, I felt that by the time I started scouring the outer reaches, I’d be expressing thanks for things no one on my friends list really cared about.

Always write with your audience in mind. Except on your blog–and even then, be careful. 🙂 So my Thanksgiving post is here this year.

A word about being thankful in general. Let’s be honest–when you’ve had a hard time of it, you don’t always feel thankful. In fact, when someone else expresses thanks (say, on a Facebook meme), sometimes it can be downright annoying. Like Pollyanna playing the “glad” game. If we’re in that state of mind, thanksgiving in general can feel like one of two things: either the person giving thanks is being fake or superficial, or everyone on Facebook is doing better than we are. (I’m using Facebook as an example here; put it in whatever other context you wish, but you get the idea.)

But here’s what I’ve discovered along a journey that has involved many failures, disappointments and overall hardship: people who are thankful ultimately have more to be thankful for. By the same token, people who are not thankful, who are ungrateful, seem to have more and more to gripe about.

When I say this, I mean it in the literal sense, not just a matter of perception. I’m not talking about rose-colored glasses here. I mean that I’ve seen (and even experienced) the phenomenon that when I’m thankful for what I have–even in dark times–more good things seem to happen in my life. Maybe I’m just seeing and recognizing more of those good things that are already there (that’s probably part of it), but I also think that attitude opens the door for more good things that wouldn’t have come my way if I’d had a bad attitude. By contrast, I have found that when I allow myself to become embittered, the dark times get all the darker, both in perception and in actual occurrences.

Now, I know some could read that and start tying into some sort of new-age thinking like “The Secret.” Please know that’s not where I’m going with this. There are definitely counterfeits of the real, but there still must be a “real” in order for there to be a counterfeit. I do believe that God has set something in place in our world in the way of a spiritual principle. Jesus expressed it this way:

“For whoever has, to him more shall be given; and whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken from him.” (Mark 4:25)

Don’t ask me how it works, because I don’t know. Nor do I feel this is a principle that can be manipulated for our own gain (that’s how it’s different from “The Secret” and/or the “Law of Attraction”). All I can say is that it is evident that being thankful and grateful is a better way to live than the other option–and that God’s blessing seems to reside over thankful hearts.

And the other thing I’ve realized is this: everyone has something to be thankful for. That’s not intended to be trite or un-compassionate for those in dire straits, because I have been there, and I know what it’s like. Rather, it’s an honest truth that we can choose to embrace. If we woke up this morning, and if we draw breath in our lungs today, that’s something to be thankful for. It may be all we have, but it’s a start. And I believe if we start from that place, we will find more and more reasons to be thankful. Even if I’m wrong about that, it’s still better to be thankful in life than not.

We are one of the few nations that has a national holiday for the purpose of giving thanks. Don’t try to tell me that doesn’t have something to do with why we have historically been one of the most prosperous nations on the planet. I won’t believe you. 🙂

So let me close out this post by sharing a few of the things that I am thankful for–and this is not a comprehensive list.

I am thankful for the breath in my lungs. (Yes, I’ll start there.)

I am thankful for a wife that has loved me through my worst moments, and loves me still.

I am thankful for a son who is bright, passionate, and gifted, and makes good choices.

I am thankful for the healing I’ve experienced–emotionally and physically.

I am thankful to God for the ultimate restoration of all that has been lost, both in this life and the next. I am also thankful that He redeems all things unto His purposes in my life.

I am thankful to live in a beautiful area where a brilliant blue sky and mountain views inspire me almost daily.

I am thankful for a lot more stuff that wouldn’t interest you, and is none of your business, anyhow. 😉

In short–I am thankful for my very life, and to the God who gives me life daily.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.