The flood of catalogs has already started. Most retailers have completed the transition from orange and black to red and green. Several online merchants are featuring countdown clocks to “Black Friday.” In the midst of all the voices calling you to start your Christmas shopping early this year, it could be easy to shortchange your celebration of Thanksgiving.
If your “cash flow” is feeling more like a “cash trickle,” you may even be wondering what you have to be thankful for. With so many voices encouraging you to spend your way to a “happy holidays,” you may have a growing sense of dread as December approaches. That’s even more of a reason to make a decision now to make sure that Thanksgiving is more than just the start of the shopping season for you and your family.
It is good to remember that the first celebrations of Thanksgiving in this country were observed in conditions that were much less than ideal. The colonists who were trying to establish a settlement at Plymouth had seen many of their friends and members of their families pass away due to the harsh conditions. Even with a better harvest that summer, they may not have had enough to feed everyone if the Wampanoag Native Americans had not helped them out.
When David moved the Ark into the city of Jerusalem, he appointed priests whose primary job was to lead the people in giving thanks to God. That first day David gave them a new song to teach the people. It begins, “Give thanks to the Lord and proclaim his greatness. Let the whole world know what he has done” (1 Chronicles 16:8).
While Jeremiah was still confined for disturbing the peace, God reassured him that the day would come when God’s people would be restored. And when that happened God told Jeremiah, “The joyful voices of bridegrooms and brides will be heard again, along with the joyous songs of people bringing thanksgiving offerings to the Lord. They will sing, ‘Give thanks to the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, for the Lord is good. His faithful love endures forever!’” (Jeremiah 33:11).
It is from prison that Paul writes to the Colossians, “and whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father” (Colossians 3:17).
You can begin to prepare now to make this season of Thanksgiving a celebration that acknowledges God’s unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for all—especially for you!
May this holiday be a blessing to you and your household.
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