Submitted by Pastor Julie Sanders, Tarkio/Westboro United Methodist Churches

Sandwiched somewhere between Halloween and Christmas is a holiday that is slowly becoming less and less in today’s busy culture. If you search hard, you might find one small section of Thanksgiving cards, autumn decorations, and a turkey platter among the aisles and miles of Halloween costumes, Christmas decorations, and toys. For some, Thanksgiving is a day to get a list together prior to a day of marathon Christmas shopping. Somehow we’ve forgotten the season of Thanksgiving. It’s really not all that surprising considering this has happened before. Originally, Thanksgiving in the U.S. is traced to 1621 when a Pilgrim leader proclaimed a day of feasting to remember the first harvest after a long year of suffering. Just like today, as the colonies grew more prosperous the people forgot all about Thanksgiving and the meaning it held for their ancestors. For generations, Thanksgiving was celebrated sporadically, if at all, with no set date.

Then in 1822 a young widow decided to revive this important celebration. Sarah was an editor of a women’s magazine and she began a 40-year campaign of writing editorials, and letters. She wrote to governors and presidents to get Thanksgiving officially recognized as a national holiday. Three Presidents turned her down. Then finally, in 1863, President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed the last Thursday in November as an annual celebration of Thanksgiving. I find it interesting that it was Lincoln that responded to Sarah’s request especially considering that at the time his own life was at a very low place. The country was literally falling apart. Have you ever noticed that the most intense moments of thankfulness are not found in times of plenty but when difficulties are all around us?

The truth is that even in the face of difficulty there is something healthy about giving thanks. The act of giving thanks is one of the most spiritually beneficial exercises we can do. First, giving thanks reminds us how blessed we are. It reminds us of all that we have rather than all we have lost. As you reflect upon some of the events of your life this Thanksgiving, maybe you can ask yourself this question, “What blessing do I have in my life?” Second, giving thanks reminds us of the source of our blessings. When we start counting our blessings we are reminded just how many times God has been there for us and we begin to recognize him in ways that we never had before. And finally, this may be the most important reason for giving thanks; being able to see what is right in front of us all the time.

As it has been said, “Christianity is above all, a way of seeing. Christians see differently and that is why their prayer, their worship, their actions and their whole way of being in the world has a distinctive accent and flavor.” There is something about thankful people, they inspire us not because their life is without burden but because they have a way of thanking God despite it all. When we give thanks, we are reminded of the “source” of everything we have. So, may this Thanksgiving open your eyes to all that God has done in your life. And my prayer is that each of us will find some way to express how thankful we are this Thanksgiving even if it’s just a moment sandwiched between Halloween and Christmas.