cktimes.ca Archives for The Pastoral Lens
The Pastoral Lens
Post-Thanksgiving Perspective
Tuesday, October 15, 2002
Now that the turkey carcass is in the fridge (waiting for the inevitable line of leftovers), Bobby's back to his dormitory loaded down with a party-sized care basket from mom, and the dishes are all put away, it's time to reflect a little on the whole celebration of Thanksgiving.As someone who went away from home for 3 of my 6 years in post-secondary education, I must say, Thanksgiving is a special family time. It is the first big weekend home after the start of the college/university school year. I would get some time with my girlfriend (now my wife of 12 years), see friends and family, play some football, and yes, sit down to a wonderful turkey dinner with all the trimmings. I just love this fall holiday!
Without going back and tracing all the history of Thanksgiving, let's consider what spawns this time of celebration. The holiday comes on the second Monday of October. Here in the great municipality of Chatham-Kent, ripe fields are being harvested and their bounty brought forth. Rural roads are clogged with tractors pulling loaded wagons, full of produce ready to be processed.
Thanksgiving celebrates God's provision from the fields. Psalm 104:14 says: "He causes the grass to grow for the cattle, and vegetation for the labour of man, so that he may bring forth food from the earth." A good portion of this food that God has provided makes its way on to our dinner tables. Food is a necessity of life and we are grateful to the Lord for His bountiful provision, particularly at this time of the year when we can actually be eyewitnesses of this blessing.
The provision of food isn't the only thing that prompts us to be thankful. Thanksgiving is a time when families join together. Good wholesome laughter and time spent together nourishes the soul. God gave us each other. It is His blessing on us that allows us to enjoy the company of one another, especially around the dinner table. Much of Jesus' celebrating and leisure time was spent with those He loved at meal times. I am so grateful for my family. Since we live away from our parents, Thanksgiving is a good time for my wife and I to go and visit them and allow them some precious time with their grandchildren. I treasure the time that we have with our families, especially on happy occasions such as this. There is just no price tag that can be put on these times.
In addition to food and family, I am so grateful for the great country we live in. Canada is a free country, full of the beauty of God's creation. One look at the news to see what's happening in other parts of the world and I'm quickly sending up a prayer of thanks that I live in Canada. Canadian Thanksgiving is just that, a Thanksgiving that is spent in a part of the world that is "glorious and free". My father served in WWII in the Royal Canadian Air Force, one of many who contributed to the procuring of the freedom we now enjoy. Thank God for our vets!
As we have just come off of another Thanksgiving celebration, what's going through your mind? Are you already in gear for the next big event, or are there things in your life right now causing you to be a little more mindful of what you've got? We take so much for granted, including life itself.
There once lived a man who spent a lot of time getting beat up and chased out of town because of what he believed. He didn't waver from his beliefs, however, but remained strong in his faith. He knew he had something that money couldn't buy and was worth dying for (and he eventually did die for his faith). I'm talking about the apostle, Paul. Perhaps a secret of his tenacity was his heart of gratitude. He is quoted as saying, "..in everything give thanks, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."
Let me encourage you during this post-Thanksgiving time to look at all that is good in your life and go to the Source of that blessing and give Him thanks. In fact, make gratitude a daily habit. Thanksgiving is so much more satisfying as a daily celebration instead of a yearly event.
