Where did we lose Thanksgiving?

 Many of the houses on our street are decorated for Halloween. Some have much more elaborate decorations than they put up for Christmas. This weekend hundreds of children will walk down our street asking for treats. Some will be wearing cute costumes while others will try to look as scary as possible. I don't know if it's possible, but I think Halloween has become even more commercialized than Christmas. But, we don't hear much about Thanksgiving.

Yes, families still may gather for a big dinner and watch football games between naps, but there's not much emphasis given to Thanksgiving. Many stores begin putting out their Christmas decorations for sale about the same time as they promote their Halloween items, but try to find a section dedicated to Thanksgiving. Unless you're looking in the meat department at the frozen turkeys you won't find many items for Thanksgiving. I wonder where we lost Thanksgiving.

I think it reflects the general lack of thanksgiving that people have today. We spend more time complaining about things than we spend expressing our gratitude. We have become a very selfish, self-centered society that believes we are entitled to more than we have. Our greed for more keeps us from being grateful for what we do have.

The apostle Paul said he had learned to be content in whatever state he was in. That's something many of us have not learned. It's also important to note that it was something he learned. I'm not sure that gratitude is something that is natural to many people. We need to learn to be grateful, and we need to learn to express that gratitude to God and to others.

I'm 73 years old and in mostly good health. My wife and I have been married for 55 years. Our children and grandchildren are healthy. We have food to eat, a roof over our heads, and a God Who loves us more than we can ever imagine. I am thankful for each of these things. Each Sunday I gather to worship to express that gratitude to God. I try as often as possible to make sure my family knows how much they mean to me and how grateful I am that we are a family.

Even though we are still almost a month away from Thanksgiving I encourage you to begin thinking about the things in your life for which you are thankful. You may want to make a list and share it with family and loved ones as you gather around the Thanksgiving table.