Why do we celebrate Thanksgiving? What is the reason for getting together with family and close friends to eat a big meal together - a meal in which we eat to much, take a break, and then eat more? It seems as though many people have forgotten that Thanksgiving has nothing to do with eating, and everything to do with gratitude.
"We have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us, and we have vainly imagined, by the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own… It has seemed to me fit and proper that God should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged, as with one heart and one voice, by the whole American people…"
- President Abraham Lincoln
I fear that with this track of destruction that the world has been running, we are slowly forgetting the real meaning of things. Christmas has become completely commercialized. Thanksgiving is all about the food. And life has become a struggle of fast pace and immediate satisfaction.
Sometimes I feel I'm getting swept up in school, work, and the social life associated with college life - and I know I'm not the only one. That's why I decided to make a gratitude tree for our apartment. I challenged each of us, as roommates, to make a leaf and write one thing that we were grateful for each day. And today I can say that I'm grateful for the inspiration to make the gratitude tree. It gave me the opportunity to look back at each day, find one thing that stood out to me, and thank my Heavenly Father for his love and blessings. It's incredible how much the Lord gives us that goes unnoticed.
Isn't it interesting that often we don't realize how grateful we are for something until it's not there? A working car becomes second nature to us - until we get a flat tire or it doesn't start. Our health is just part of our every day - until we get sick. Mom is just mom - until I realize how much I need and want her when she's not there, how much she really loves me when she stays up late to help me after I've had a meltdown, how much joy she brings into the family just by being her. Dad is just dad - until I notice that he greets me with a "hey beautiful" when I come home from school, he talks and laughs with me about the troubles I'm going through, he spends his hard earned money to make sure I'm okay and have the things I need to get through life. Jeremy is just a little brother - until I remember how much I love the great big hug he give me when I come home or am not feeling well, that he's willing to take me shopping to make me fashionable, that he stays up late to talk and giggle with me about the funny things in life. BJ is just an older brother - until I realized how willing he is to help me with a big project, how often he buys me little gifts just to let me know he cares.
We all need to try a little harder to realize, notice, and remember all that the Lord has giving us - all the love He has for each of us. Maybe then life will be a little easier. Maybe then we will be grateful for the little joys in life.
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