Thanks God

The turkey, and everything that goes with it, all set up, ready to eat, ready to gain that extra few pounds, belt loosened and pants with the expanding waistband on, visions of a long afternoon nap on the couch as sounds of college football ring in the ears, family surrounds, both functional and dysfunctional; it must be Thanksgiving. We focus on the food, the joy of seeing family we like and trying to maintain with the family we’re not quite as fond of, spending the day like every other Thanksgiving. The day, the beginning Holiday of the Holiday Season, followed by Christmas and New Years, comes and goes, and many forget to reflect on the meaning of being thankful.

Life being what it is, doesn’t deliver only gains and success, but intertwines struggles, pain, disappointment, and the like, throughout our lives. We have become a culture that is obsessed with being happy, relieving pain, avoiding discomfort at all costs. Take this pill, drink this liquid, do this exercise, practice this form of religion, mediation, or prayer, change your spouse, take a new job, etc., etc., etc. In our desire to be constantly happy, I must wonder if we actually cause more of our pain in our pursuit of happiness. Happiness is grand, and to be enjoyed when possible, and it is also external.

Joy, the “other side of the coin”, is internal, and comes from the condition of the heart. Joy comes from the spirit within and the moral, value, personal, and Godly choices we make in our lives that create our inner compass. Bob Dylan wrote, “You gotta serve somebody”, and that which you choose to serve will mold the character of your soul, creating the spirit of your perceptions in life. Joy finds peace in misery, hope in distress, and a Savior in a world of uncertainty. Happiness is fleeting; Joy is eternal.

Thanksgiving can be defined as, “a positive emotion or attitude in acknowledgment of a benefit that one has received or will receive”, “an expression of gratitude, a short prayer, grace, a benediction”, and “an act of giving thanks; an expression of gratitude, especially to God”. Of course, there are countless definitions of thanksgiving and gratefulness. We all have our versions which have been crafted by our culture of country and culture of ethnicity and family. In my own definition of thanksgiving, it is the choice of loving when not feeling loved, respecting when not being respected, caring when not feeling cared for, all in the content of healthy boundaries and self care, being thankful and finding joy in the moments of life God has granted me.

It is difficult, well, actually impossible, for my mind to separate thankfulness and thanksgiving from God and the salvation offered through Christ. Thanksgiving began as a Christian inspired celebration that like other Holidays has lost much of it’s meaning through secular thought. Today, my reader and friend, I encourage you to step back, spend some time in contemplation and reflection, and rediscover the thankfulness that exists in your life, that can often be hidden in the struggles, challenges, and adversity of life. Sit back, pray, meditation, be silent, and embrace the thankfulness of life, and the thankfulness of being a child of a Great God.


(The writings in this post are random thoughts and observations and are NEVER intended as professional or personal advice. Take what works and leave the rest. For information on mental health and/or substance abuse help, visit http://www.rodneyvalandra.com and refer to the links page.)