When Thanksgiving Mattered
I know that I am a hopeless romantic when it comes to the holiday of Thanksgiving. As I constantly say, it is my favorite holiday. That being true, I have an idealized view of the holiday.
But, even with that said, does it not seem as if this holiday really doesn’t matter as much as it used to? And, to me, that’s sad.
Yes, I know people have always worked on Thanksgiving. EMTs and first responders and nurses show up to work, and for them we are grateful. Even all those football players and TV crew who bring us the annual games are showing up for work.
But as the years go by, more and more of what makes Thanksgiving special in the most important of ways is slipping away, and it really does not seem as if anyone even cares.
Families spend half the day planning where they will shop on Black Friday–or even later on Thanksgiving Day–for stuff they don’t have. Much of the other half of the day is spent with some people cooking and others on their cell phones and iPads scrolling through social media.
For so many people, that’s the holiday.
Is that what it’s supposed to be? Shouldn’t there be a lot more to it than that?
Shouldn’t there be time where we actually talk to the people who are in the room with us about the blessings we have? Shouldn’t there be time where we praise and thank God for “every good and every perfect gift” with which He has blessed us (James 1:17)? Shouldn’t there be the realization that the stores will still be there on Friday…and Saturday…and beyond, so let’s just enjoy the stuff we already have today? Shouldn’t there be a limit on how much time we spend looking at other people’s holidays through social media so we can enjoy the holiday with the people who are actually under our same roof?
Maybe your Thanksgiving turkey and dressing isn’t Pinterest worthy. Maybe your family has gone through a difficulty–even a tragedy–this year, so the emotions are raw and on edge. Maybe you really do have to work as a nurse or fireman, so the holiday is cut short (or has to be moved to an off day).
But, in reality, Thanksgiving should be about us actually slowing down and giving thanks, instead of rushing on to the next big thing. We do enough of that 364 days out of the year. Can we not take one day to really put on the brakes?
I sincerely wonder, if we keep this up, how much longer Thanksgiving will actually be a holiday. What a tragedy it would be if we couldn’t stop for one day, and it cost us a day on which we are to be thanking Jehovah for what He has given us.
Tomorrow, please enjoy what you have, and say thank you. Let the next day be the next day, and let the people you are with know you love them by being with them and interacting with them.
Maybe you can make Thanksgiving truly matter once again.
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AUTHOR: Adam Faughn
