A Second Opinion: Giving Thanks–Let’s do that every day!

“Thanksgiving is more than just a food fest”

by Mary Foran

Turkey roasted in the oven, along with yams, scalloped potatoes, Brussels sprouts mixed with onions and mushrooms, and a generous pan of stuffing, gravy and cranberry sauce, and to top off your Thanksgiving dinner, pumpkin pie with real whipped cream–doesn’t that sound delicious?

Well, that is what we are having this year–all that preparation and food for one special day and leftovers for the rest of the week!

But this year I could not go through another Thanksgiving without thinking of the less fortunate, so I contributed to two rescue missions in town where at least they feed the poor on Thanksgiving Day.

We are safe and warm and dreaming of dessert; we chose the pumpkin pie, but you might like pecan pie or Dutch Apple with vanilla ice cream. The sky’s the limit!

Well, I figure I spend money on clothes and books and newspapers, so why not assuage a stranger’s hunger for a day? If only I could contribute more, and more often–ah, to be well-off!

The truth be told, I am so grateful for what I have now in life, after years of strife and struggle. I have a roof over my head and a bed to sleep in, unlike the homeless people frequenting the missions.

So many in need

There are so many people in need and so many who could help if they gave what they could to the proper charities.

The first Thanksgiving was a feast of God-fearing Christians who were grateful for the bounty that they had found in the New World. Nowadays, we re-create this feast every year in the last week of November and share our good fortune with family and friends.

If we can give thanks to God once a year for our blessings, why not do it every day?

We have so much to be grateful for: parents if they are living, children if we have them, a spouse or relatives who help us polish off the pie, friends who wish us well.

We have so much to be grateful for

We have eyes to see with if we do, legs to walk with if we can, hands to hold another’s with if we dare, and feet with which to take the next step.

Thanksgiving is more than just a food fest, it is a time of reflection and meditation on the wonderful things we have to be grateful for in our lives.

So this year, as you are sipping your after-dinner sparkling wine, think how lucky you really, really are!

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Images
Featured image/vxla, CC BY2.0
Turkey cartoon/yensid1998, CC BY2.0
Homeless on snowy sidewalk/Golfeser, PD
Thanksgiving dinner/Hugo Pardo Kuklinski, CC BY2.0. Partial face blot-out supplied.