A good friend of mine received a voice message from her son the week after he moved into his first college apartment: “Hey, Mom. I just wanted to let you know how much I appreciate you and all you’ve done for us through the years. Thanks for always having stuff available at our house like hand soap and dish towels. Anyway, just wanted to tell you that I love you and I’m thankful for all you do.” Living with a group of boys who weren’t as attentive to the finer details of stocking a household had given him a different appreciation for his mom. Some of the most basic things he previously overlooked suddenly had new meaning for him. I love that he noticed and took the time to tell her.
And isn’t that just human nature? We take many good things for granted and rarely notice or acknowledge the efforts others take to provide them for us. Only when they’re missing from our lives do we realize what a blessing they were.
As I’ve been anticipating the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday, I’ve been thinking about the importance of directing our general feelings of gratitude to someone specific. That is, after all, how the holiday came into existence. You probably know the pilgrims celebrated the first Thanksgiving feast to honor God’s provision for them through a brutal winter. You might even know that Abraham Lincoln was the one who made it a national holiday. But, like me, you may not have realized that it was George Washington who made the original Thanksgiving Proclamation in 1789.
Washington’s words in the proclamation state: “Now therefore I do recommend and assign Thursday the 26th day of November next 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 previous to their becoming a Nation—for the signal and manifold mercies, and the favorable interpositions of his Providence which we experienced in the course and conclusion of the late war—for the great degree of tranquillity, union, and plenty, which we have since enjoyed—for the peaceable and rational manner, in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national One now lately instituted—for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed; and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and in general for all the great and various favors which he hath been pleased to confer upon us.”
The whole point of the holiday was to pause, look back and thank God for all He had done for our nation. The purpose of the day was not to watch football, attend parades, or even to eat turkey. It wasn’t created to signify the kick off to the Christmas shopping season or to boost the economy with Black Friday sales. The purpose of the national day of thanksgiving was to thank God for His care, provision, and protection of the citizens of our country. It was a time to pause and reflect with gratefulness to someone very specific—the Lord.
George Washington was not the first leader to do this, nor is the United States the only nation in modern times that pauses for a day to give thanks. We are following the examples of those who have gone before us: Moses, David, and Solomon are among a variety of people in Scripture that led others to stop, reflect, and express gratitude to God collectively.
With the many extra things that have been added onto Thanksgiving over the years, acknowledging gratitude to God often gets lost in the shuffle. And even when we do reflect on our thankfulness, it tends to be about what we’re grateful for instead of to whom we’re thankful. This year, I want to pause to acknowledge and appreciate God in specific ways. I want to stop and notice not only the gifts I’ve received, but the Giver. Rather than just having a general warm fuzzy feeling of thankfulness, let’s direct our gratitude to the One who gave us all that we have. Make it a goal to follow the advice repeated throughout the Psalms:
“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.” Psalm 106:1
Photo of George Washington’s profile at Mount Rushmore courtesy of Pixabay.com