Dear Friends,
 
Happy Thanksgiving!
As you gather around your table tomorrow it is my prayer that our Lord will provide you with a heart full of thanksgiving and fill your home with His presence, peace, and comfort.

I know as we review this past year there is a sense of disappointment that there has not been a greater recovery from COVID-19. There are still so many restrictions and many of our friends and family have experienced the devastating effects of this pandemic. But no matter the challenges we face it is not to limit our opportunity to give thanks. Let’s take a moment to reflect upon the very first Thanksgiving. Their feet were still wet, but the Pilgrims finally arrived at Cape Cod Bay in New England on November 11, 1620. Their voyage had taken 65 days. One person died, and yet 2 were born. They had good reason to be thankful. If the Pilgrims had instituted “Thanksgiving” at that point we all would just say, “Well, wasn’t that nice.” History records however, that their first winter was an utter disaster. By the next spring, half of the people had died of scurvy and other causes. Remarkably, it was after this point of deep, personal loss that the Pilgrims instituted their feast of Thanksgiving. Life had been tough, but God had been faithful. They were able to see good reason for thanksgiving.

Would we have been thankful? Would we have celebrated God’s faithfulness, or our own survival? Would our personal loss have crippled our sense of gratitude? After all, the table was filled with food but there were a lot of empty seats. Loved ones were missing, and families and friends were grieving. Maybe, just maybe, we can relate with their loss and feel their pain, and maybe we too, can see the helping hand of our heavenly Father as He has carried us through, and hear His voice of comfort speaking encouragement to us along our journey. Let us follow their example and give thanks as well.

Here is a good word from the apostle Paul, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, Ephesians 5:20.
And here is a final question “What if you woke up tomorrow with only the things you thanked God for today, would you wake up with anything?” Start giving thanks now, so that you will be ready for tomorrow.