The Day of Thanksgiving in rapidly approaching.  We will gather with family and friends to share the traditional Thanksgiving Dinner of turkey, filling (or stuffing as some like to call it), mashed potatoes, and the rest of the festive trimmings. Oh yes, the desserts.  All this is usually followed by the traditional nap as we fall asleep on the couch while a “kitchen fairy” cleans up the dishes.  The offical “fat season” of the holiday’s has begun.  Christmas and New Year’s will follow with all the left overs in between.  Almost sounds unhealthy.

But will we stop to remember that it is a Day of Thanksgiving?  A day that we are to recall and be grateful for the many blessings we have.  As time goes by, we often fail to stop and reflect on the goodness with which we have been blessed.  Maybe that is why we need a Thanksgiving Day, to stop, reflect, and be thankful, or rather grateful.

Gratitude is a word that does not seem to be heard that often.  The word grace is closely associated with gratitude.  We have been blessed first and foremost by God.  God created us, gave us life, sustains us, and has redeemed us through His Son, Jesus Christ.  We have a share in God’s life. We have been endowed with Grace.  Realizing the Grace we have first received from God, we humbly share it with others.  Gratitude then motivates us to move beyond ourselves and reach out to others.  We see the blessings we have received through others.  An excerpt from Wikipedia on the definition of grace states that:

Gratitude in Christianity is an acknowledgment of God’s generosity that inspires Christians to shape their own thoughts and actions around such ideals.[16] Instead of simply a sentimental feeling, Christian gratitude is regarded as a virtue that shapes not only emotions and thoughts but actions and deeds as well.

From en.wikipedia.org (share this quote)

Therefore we are called to move beyond just being thankful but to be grateful.  In so doing, we acknowledge others and endear them as God had endeared us.  No matter how hard we may find life at times, we can always acknowledge the love we have from God and those dear to us.  I, personally, am most grateful for my family and some very close friends from whom I receive much love.  For this, I am grateful.