Thanksgiving is all over for another year. Or is it?
Yes, the annual fall feast may be gone leaving us with enough left-over turkey to supply lunches for the rest of the week, but we do well to remember that thanksgiving should be far more than merely one day on the calendar in early October.
For thanksgiving is actually a frame of mind – a conscious choice to live each and every day remembering that, on balance, life for most people living in this land of abundance is truly a matter where the glass is half-full rather than half-empty.
I found myself thinking about such matters as we enjoyed one of several Thanksgiving Day feeds this past weekend.
One of our children had brought an Iranian friend over to share our ample turkey. His mother was travelling to Iran to see her aging parents on Thanksgiving Day, thus much of our dinner-table chit-chat related to some of the current controversy surrounding that country and its outspoken leaders.
It is sufficient to note that the robust exchange we had that evening served as a timely reminder that so much of what we Canadians take for granted each and every day is not the reality for many, many people in our world.
Take, for instance, the mobility that we enjoy as Canadians. Thousands of our fellow citizens travelled significant distances on Thanksgiving weekend to spend the holiday with loved ones without fear of having their travels unnecessarily monitored by government officials.
I am positive that no one traveling anywhere in Canada over the holiday had cause to worry that they might encounter an imbedded electronic device in a roadway.
Nor did the people of this land have to worry that their Thanksgiving celebrations be aligned with the teachings of a state-enforced religion.
Such conditions are simply not a part of our way of life. This reality alone is an appropriate base upon which to build a frame of mind that is characterized by thanksgiving. Add to this roster the freedom of speech we enjoy as Canadians, the comparatively competent healthcare that we can access or the choices, choices, choices that are ours with respect to diet, fashion, entertainment, shelter, etc., and it’s not difficult to see why Canadians should be among the most thankful people on earth.
This should be our national reality not just on what is designated as our official Thanksgiving Day, but day after day after day after day. The truth is, we have it very, very good in this country.
So here’s hoping it doesn’t require the aroma of turkey to make us realize how good we have it on a regular basis.
Here’s hoping there’s more to our understanding of thanksgiving than just the delightful sights and smells of the season.
Thanksgiving is not merely a time of year; it is truly a frame of mind.
Tim Callaway is pastor of Faith Community Baptist Church. He can be reached at [email protected]
