Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. Don’t get me wrong, I love Christmas, Easter, Halloween, my birthday and the opening day of deer season, but there is something really special about Thanksgiving. Maybe I like fall, maybe I like getting together with my family. Maybe I like that we don’t have to worry about getting a bunch more stuff for our loved ones that they probably don’t even want. We haven’t found a way to corrupt Thanksgiving like we have so many other holidays (well except for the gluttony factor)
Thanksgiving is a great holiday and there IS a lot to be thankful for. I thought I’d take a minute out of the day to come up with a short list.
Our Universe – its huge and awesome and it works in a way that allows us to live… if the sun weren’t aligned the way it was we’d be screwed, if planets and comets didn’t go on their paths we’d be screwed, but they all do work and don’t let some knucklehead scientists make you think we have any control over what they are doing because we don’t!
Our Planet – Earth is the only planet like it. We’ve never found intelligent life anywhere else. Earth is amazing with its climate, its temperature, its water and its beauty. Appreciate how amazing this place is. Isn’t it nice that the sun comes up in the morning and goes down at night? Aren’t you glad you don’t have to worry about making it do that? You don’t have to set that each day like you do your alarm clock…. pretty nice huh? What about rain…. its nice that it rains on the plants so they’ll make oxygen and let you breath…. pretty cool huh?
The United States – the US is still a wonderful country, no matter how your college professors, media, Hollywood or anyone else makes you feel about it…. our country has a great history filled with strife and pain but also filled with awesome stories of perseverance and hope. We have abundant natural resources, plenty of space to stretch out, we have the Grand Canyon, the Rocky Mountains, Mammoth Cave. We have all the different dialects, sub-cultures, music, food and everything else that makes us unique. We have lots of American success stories, we’ve produced some pretty cool people like Ronald Reagan, Elvis Presley, Roy Rogers, Mark Twain, Teddy Roosevelt, Alexander Graham Bell, Thomas Edison, we’ve made the Colt pistol, Remington firearms, the snuggie, Chuck Norris, Clint Eastwood, the Duke, bluegrass music, the cheeseburger, the Chevy Camaro, Ford trucks, basketball, football, the nuclear bomb and all kinds of other cool things.
The Constitution of the United States of America – We have a unique constitution. Before it was created the world had never seen anything like it. Our country was built on freedom of thought, freedom of expression… with no fear of oppression. Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness…. religious freedom, freedom of speech, freedom of thought all with goodwill towards our fellow man. The Bill of Rights has no parallel. A lot of people died so you wouldn’t have to live under oppression and most of us aren’t worth spit compared to our ancestors that built this country. How about we turn off the danged TV, read to our kids, raise them with some danged values and make our dead ancestors proud. It’d be a shame if all the great folks before us died in vain.
Our Armed Forces – whether you agree with where they are at or who sent them there they are doing a job many of us don’t have the cahones to do. They are serving and doing what they think is right. They have freed countries from oppression and they have justly killed people who act like cowards…. killing innocents and hiding among children as human shields. As Americans we’ve went places that no one had the resources to go. Americans defended France, defended the UK, we’ve defended Bosnians, Serbians, Vietnamese, Iraqis and Afghanis. War is hell and a lot of bad things have happened in the process but good has come from it as well. In the middle of it are the young men and women who serve their countrymen and the risk of losing their life. Don’t EVER bad-mouth them. Always thank them for their service and their sacrifice.
Our Leaders – we have many leaders who deserve our thanks and we should be thankful for them. Whether its a sergeant we served under, a teacher who taught us, a police officer who caught us before it was too late, a parent who raised us right…. whoever it was we should be thankful for our leaders, that there are people willing to devote their time to enrich someone’s life other than their own.
Things may be rough for you right now… you might be close to losing your home, or you may have lost it…. might be between jobs… or you may be okay, heck in this country you might be receiving a bonus right now? In America you’ll have the chance to work hard and probably get it back if you are struggling right now and if you are doing okay you might be able to keep some of it. You don’t have to worry about the secret police hauling you off because of your political views , you don’t have to worry about some soldiers shacking up in your house and eating your food or getting to know your wife personally like some soldiers in some war-torn countries do. You don’t have to worry about the government telling you your female baby has to die like the Chinese tell mothers and fathers every day. You don’t have to worry about famine, disease (H1N1 is nothing compared to the African AIDs epidemic, or malaria outbreaks, or yellow fever outbreaks), you don’t have to worry about civil unrest, or oppression. Yeah taxes are getting a little oppressive, most politicians are completely and utterly worthless, but normally when that stuff starts to happen America has a way of resetting itself. We live in a pretty darn good place. You can come and go as you please, you can own a gun to oppose a corrupt gov’t if needs be, you can plant a garden…. you don’t have to be rationed food in some line, you can speak your mind, you can do all kinds of things if you set your mind to it and work hard.
Be thankful…. turn off Facebook, turn off your computer and laugh with your family this weekend. Enjoy the food you’ll prepare and buy…. eat it and cherish the times the good Lord has given you with your loved ones. You never know when you’ll get more…. evil men might take control of this country…. freedom might disappear to the sound of thunderous applause… but right now, act like those Pilgrims that gave thanks after surviving a harsh winter. Find something to be thankful for and find someone to give thanks to. Enjoy life because you only get one go at it.
so this will be my prayer on Thanksgiving day… I hope you’ll pray it too.
Lord God in heaven, thank you for giving us life, thank you for giving us the ability to love, giving us the ability to make art, thank you for song and dance and all the other things you have put in us that separate us from the rest of your creation. Thank you God for giving us relative peace in a time of conflict. Thank you for giving places where we can live and work that are free from crime, hatred and oppression. Thank you for our families, our parents, our leaders and the people that work hard every day and never complain. Let us always try to be better people, let us try to follow Christ and love others as we would want to be loved. Be with those of us who can’t be around the Thanksgiving table. Be with those who are trying to free other people in this world from oppression in Afghanistan and Iraq… let us be ambassadors in this world, let us be unafraid of those who seek to terrify others. Lord be with our country and let us be responsible. Let us be good stewards of your Earth, let us be good stewards with the possessions you have given us. Let us be liberal with joy, love and peace and let us be conservative in our obedience to you. Let us stand up and be strong men and women and do our duty as children, parents, grandparents, family and neighbors. Let us give no one a reason to hate us. Let us be respectable. Once again Lord thank you for giving us life.
