Thanksgiving Day is in a few weeks and you probably forgot about this. Retailers and restaurants went from possible Columbus Day sales to Halloween to Christmas. I posed this question to our daughter this morning: Have you ever seen or received a milk chocolate turkey at thanksgiving? Have you seen any candy that is specifically made for Thanksgiving? Note: Candy corn does not count!!
And here lies our issue: Thanksgiving and the idea of being thankful is often overlooked. We have bypassed Thanksgiving in favor of the more popular Christmas holiday. There is nothing wrong with Christmas; however, we skip the transformation that can occur by actually celebrating Thanksgiving and being thankful. How do we engage in being thankful when it is overlooked?
Slow up on Christmas. This idea is pretty obvious: however, it is necessary to ask. Maybe you like to put up Christmas decorations early and that is fine but why such a rush? Sure, you get to enjoy it more if you put up your decorations early but do you then forgot about Thanksgiving? It won’t matter if your decorations are up for 60 days or 30 days if you missed your opportunity to focus on thankfulness.
Thanksgiving is an attitude from the heart. Thanksgiving and thankfulness are attributes of a loving and joyous heart. It is imperative that we view being thankful for more than just a day on Thanksgiving Day. A small step is to dedicate the month of November to being thankful. Celebrate thankfulness by posting on social media and reaching out to people you are thankful for. People need to know that they matter.
Serve others. Other than cooking a meal on Thanksgiving, what are ways you can serve others this month? Could you volunteer to serve at a church or community center on Thanksgiving? Local shelters are in need of volunteers and socks (yes, socks) during the next few months. Writing a check to fund a need is great but physically being there and meeting needs is even greater.
Stop using weird sayings about blessings. “Too blessed to be stressed” is a great example of downplaying what a blessing is. This mentality also emphasizes that there is no such thing as suffering amidst our daily lives. We are blessed BECAUSE we have God’s presence during our stress; therefore, we are able to bless others due to what we have overcome.
Start your Thanksgiving today!
Copyright 2019 Jason Weirich
This article was originally published at CatholicMom.com and is shared here with permission.
