Thanksgiving is over but thanks-living carries on!
What a wonderful time I hope you all had in celebrating the national holiday of Thanksgiving. Family and friends gathered around a table full of food and conversation, it does not get any better than that. I, myself, enjoyed a blessed and joyful several days of visiting and celebration with my wife, June; daughter, Lacey; son-in-law, Nick; and two grandchildren, Ian and Leta. I am so thankful for the unbelievable joy God has given me in the gift of my family.
Yes, Thanksgiving is a special time for you and me to focus on all the blessings our Lord has so richly poured out on each of us. It only seems natural for us to take time to acknowledge those gifts our great God has bestowed on us when we do come together for this day of thanks.
Yet, sad to say for many people this may simply be a day to gather for eating food, watching football, going hunting, or doing any other activity you may decide to be involved in on a holiday. There is another disheartening aspect about Thanksgiving which many times also comes into play: the idea that when the holiday is over, so is the need to give thanks until next year. Thanksgiving may end after 11:59 p.m. but thanks-living is something that should go on throughout the entire year. Living as thankful people of God, in both word and deed, each day of the year, are certainly faithful and God-pleasing ways for you and me to live in this world. We are the Lord’s dearly loved children, who have been saved through the sacrificial work of Jesus Christ, for that we are most assuredly to be forever grateful.
Thanksgiving is truly a day we can carry out by thanks-living 365 days a year. God never stops blessing us with His love, grace, and mercy, nor does He ever withhold Jesus from us. I pray we never withhold our thankfulness and praise from Him. “Thank the Lord and sing His praise; Tell everyone what He has done. Let all seek the Lord rejoice and proudly bear His name. He recalls His promises and leads He people forth in joy with shouts of thanksgiving. Alleluia, alleluia. “Thank the Lord” LSB Pastor McCarty