I sat in on my daughter's preschool Thanksgiving feast last week. The teacher so graciously told the 4-year-olds that we
always have something to be thankful for. Even when someone wrongs us, by taking our toy for example. We can still be thankful. We can be thankful for the many other toys that are around. We can be thankful that we have friends we can play with instead. We can be thankful that we have creative imaginations and don't need toys to have fun. There is
always something to be thankful for.
Adults could learn a lot from that preschool lesson. I found myself thinking about the cultural practice of thanksgiving, and wondering if children everywhere are learning to be thankful when someone takes their toy. If they are, then we should have a whole culture full of grateful hearts.
My husband and I were watching a PBS show last night on the first pilgrims that colonized Massachusetts, in honor of the Thanksgiving holiday of course. Apparently, it was a regular practice for the pilgrims to declare a day of Thanksgiving, especially after a particularly hard season. The first Thanksgiving is the one we think about when the Pilgrims and the Indians shared a meal together. The second one happened two years later after a hard drought.
Several of our early presidents, starting with George Washington, declared days of Thanksgiving. It was Abraham Lincoln who proclaimed a national Thanksgiving Day to celebrate the unity of the states in the midst of a nation weary of civil war.
What struck me is the regularity found in our cultural history to declare a day to celebrate, rest, feast, and practice the art of thankfulness together. Maybe I sound cynical, but I just can't imagine any of our modern presidents taking it upon themselves to declare a day for the nation to remember to be thankful. If it wasn't already built into the holiday schedule that is.
I am not convinced that the value of thankfulness is at the very heart of American culture... but I want it to be. I will start by making it a core value in our own home. May my children's natural response to the end of a hard season be to declare a time of thanksgiving.
Today I am thankful for modern medicine and wise doctors. This past month was a rough one, between a bad strain of croup that sent two of my little ones to urgent care in need of care at inconvenient time, and my own wisdom teeth that left me in severe pain or fighting a developed infection for weeks, I am thankful for the medicine we have available in the 21st century because I honestly don't know what a poor mother was to do a hundred years ago.
Today I am thankful that our home is a place of respite, filled with peace. There is warmth and joy in this place and I don't feel fearful about where I live.
Today I am thankful for days spent with small children because it is a luxury. These days sometimes feel shrouded in monotony and death to my personal dreams, but I have already begun to see the benefits to my family and must be intentional about viewing these days at home as a privilege. God takes my life away, but more and more it feels He is actually giving it back.
Today I am thankful for the community that helps me raise my children. From loving grandparents, aunts, and uncles, to teachers and other parents who school my children, to friends who think my kids are special because of all the ways they are unique and not out of obligation to me. It truly takes a village.
Today I am thankful that my children love Jesus to the best of their understanding and ability. My middle child is sassy and bossy, and she needs Jesus. My oldest doesn't share well and is consumed by holding tightly to her things, and she needs Jesus. My youngest has a stubborn streak I am not sure I can parent on my own, and he needs Jesus. Thank you, Jesus, that you are going to be doing the hardest work on their hearts.
Today I am thankful for my spouse and the ways he brings balance to who I am. He is a dreamer in ways that I am not. He pushes me to give more in some areas while stepping back in others. He challenges me to work harder and rest better. He offers words of praise and appreciation freely and is present with our children. He continues to surprise me with his understanding of the purpose of this life and the important components of having a good quality of life.
Today I am thankful for the tiny glimpses I get to see in the role God has for me in His kingdom. I believe that for the sake of our own humility that much of how we impact the kingdom of God will remain hidden. But God like to crack a window open periodically to encourage us to press on in this hard work of loving others and being bold in the truth. I am thankful for the little peek I get to see through the window today.
Today I am thankful for the painful, unhappy, awkward parts of my journey because they have made me who I am, and because they are still chipping away at me like a chisel in the hands of the Master Sculptor.
Today I am even thankful for the weather. California has been in a devastating drought, and we fell asleep to the sound of rain in the night. Every drop is a gift from above.
Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.
Let us come before Him with thanksgiving...
Psalm 95:1-2
Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise;
give thanks to Him and praise His name.
For the Lord is good and His love endures forever;
His faithfulness continues though all generations.
Psalm 100:4-5
Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.
1 Thessalonians 5:17
Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good. His love endures forever.
Psalm 136:1
