One week 21 years ago… My income once again was barely enough to keep the office open. A man wanted to see me about starting a ministry but never showed. At home water leaked through a ceiling and into the basement. A circuit breaker blew. One of our trees fell and damaged my neighbor’s new gutters. I had the flu. And I got to thinking about…Thanksgiving.

It’s an interesting holiday. Many gather with family and friends, most enjoying a cherished time of fellowship. But others find it a stressful annual ritual and don’t gather at all. Some have legitimate reasons; others have convenient excuses.

But even for those who do gather, the focus often is not Thanksgiving at all. It’s football and basketball games, sales with “amazing savings”, or the food. Oh yes, the food. Basted turkeys, glazed hams, green beans, peas, giblet gravy and dressing, cranberry sauce, deviled eggs, pickled peaches, apple rings, and every casserole, pie, and cake known to mankind.

Thanksgiving is all about giving thanks.

But where’s the Thanksgiving? For the most part, we “give thanks” only as a prelude to our assault on the food. A few words are said, even sincerely, but if that prayer dares to take longer than 30 seconds, we become annoyed and restless. “Is he ever going to shut up” dances through our heads.

Then again, it’s hard for many to have much Thanksgiving. A friend spends months in a hospital, another fights cancer. Some have lost their jobs, their savings, and their homes. Many face failure and shattered dreams. How do they give thanks? We might tell them there’s always someone who has it worse, but is that encouragement? And what about those who do have it worse?

Maybe we have this all wrong. Perhaps Thanksgiving isn’t about the “things” of this world…the games, or the sales, or the food. When everything is said and done, it might not even be about “us all being together.” Maybe…just maybe…there’s something more.

And giving thanks is about thanking God.

This Thanksgiving remember to thank God for the blessings you have received…family, friends, a home, a job, or decent food and shelter. Thank Him for wanting you to live with Him forever in a place where there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain. ¹

Thank God for the opportunities He gives you to be an example of Jesus…loving and encouraging others, helping them grow closer to Him and seeing what He is all about. And thank God that even in the midst of trials and trouble, you know that Jesus has never left you and is always by your side.

May we come together in heart, mind and spirit, as God’s children, brothers and sisters in Christ, and make every day a real Thanks-Giving. ² And may the grace that is reaching more and more people cause Thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God. ³

Ciloa Forever!

 

Chuck

 

 

Chuck Graham is Founder and Executive Director of Ciloa, an international ministry devoted to encouraging others and teaching them how to encourage one another. He is also an author and speaker. Chuck and his wife, Beverly, live in Lawrenceville, Georgia, USA. Learn more about Chuck and Ciloa at www.Ciloa.org.

 

 

 

Footnotes: The original, and much longer version, of this Note of Encouragement (Time for a Real Thanks-giving) was published November 25, 2002. (1) Read Revelation 21:4. (2) Maybe even pray more than once and longer than 30 seconds. (3) Read 2 Corinthians 4:15.

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