As the Thanksgiving holiday draws near, memories begin flickering in my mind like old movies: The turkey, pumpkin, and cornucopia stickers of grade school fame that adorned my school papers. The drawings we were given to color, featuring smiling pilgrims holding muskets, Native Americans holding vegetables, lady pilgrims wearing aprons, all surrounding a cooked turkey and other holiday foods filling a long table. My family seated around a table watching with great anticipation while the roasted turkey was being carved. And just before the serving of food started, hands joining and my uncle leading us in thanking God or the Divine for the food, for all of the gifts he had bestowed on us, and, most importantly, for each other.
When I reflect on my personal relationship with God and the evolution of my prayer, it seems that my prayers thanking God are deeply rooted in Thanksgiving and its traditions. In my younger years, that was the time when those around me were outwardly thanking God for our abundances. It was also a time when we would pray together, not a typical activity for the rest of the year in my family.
Being light years beyond grade school, I am not sure if children still see the stickers or color those pictures of the First Thanksgiving that I experienced. When I look around my adult world, I see turkeys, ads for pies, Thanksgiving Dinner dining opportunities in restaurants, advertisements for parades, and football games. I see no ads about new Thanksgiving prayers or prayer books for families in preparation for this holiday. The media seems not to be inviting us to give thanks to God as did our ancestors.
I think there is some irony when I remember my younger brother talking about the widely televised parade as “The Macy Day Parade.” I smile thinking about that perception of Thanksgiving, but then start to wonder if it is not a more appropriate contemporary name for the parade associated with this November holiday. I wonder if the roots of that holiday disintegrated and left a more commercial holiday standing in its place? A time for a big meal, watching a parade, football, bargain shopping for Christmas, and planned family time. Maybe I am missing something? But I am sensing, probably not.
So, this makes me wonder if as a culture we have backed off from setting aside even one day a year to thank God, the Divine, our Creator, for the abundance He has given this country? It reminds me of this section of the letter of St. Paul to the Romans:
For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.
Romans 1:21
Have our foolish hearts become darkened? Has our thinking become futile? When you honestly think about all that is invested in a huge parade, a football game, and even a huge meal, is there truthfully any long-term benefit, or are they all merely fleeting moments of varying durations?
...always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Ephesians 5:20
Do I thank God enough for all the blessings He has placed, and continues to place, in my life? God deserves my gratitude, every moment of my life, but sadly, I do not always remember to share my gratitude with Him?
This Thanksgiving and in future days, I will take to heart the words of St. Paul:
And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Colossians 3:1
Regardless of your religious leanings and how you address the Divine, may you and your families find ways to give thanks and to open your grateful hearts. May you receive an abundance of blessings.
- Martha Corkery -