Why should we give thanks in times like these, Thanksgiving, Giving thanks

Why Should We Give Thanks
In Times Like These?
By: Wanda L. Ball

According to History.com, the first Thanksgiving took place in Massachusetts during the Pilgrim
Settlers second winter in America in December 1621. The first winter had killed 44 of the original
102 passengers and most of the colonists remained on board the ship, where they suffered from
exposure, scurvy and outbreaks of contagious disease. Only half of the Mayflower’s original
passengers and crew lived to see their first New England spring. In March, the remaining settlers
moved ashore, where they received an astonishing visit from an Abenaki Indian who greeted them
in English. Since next summers crops brought hope, the Plymouth colonists and Wampanoag
Indians shared an autumn harvest feast on December 13, 1621, which is acknowledged today as
one of the first Thanksgiving celebrations in the colonies. Although this feast is considered to be
the very first Thanksgiving celebration, it was actually in keeping with a long tradition of celebrating
the harvest and giving thanks for a successful bounty of crops. The Pilgrims gave thanks to God for
helping them find acres of land that had no hostile Indians and for newfound religious freedom.
They also celebrated with the friendly Indians who brought wild turkeys and venison with them. As
well as prayers, sermons and songs of praise. They spent three days feasting and praying.

Since that time, Thanksgiving is a celebration of thanks of gratitude to God for His grace and mercy
upon us. And President Lincoln officially set aside the last Thursday of November in 1863, "as a
day of thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent Father." In 1941, Congress ruled that after 1941,
the fourth Thursday of November be observed as Thanksgiving Day and become a legal holiday.

But why should we give thanks in times like these today? It is true that in today's society, some of
us may think we don't have much to be thankful for. From loss of jobs, homes, cars and
possessions, what's left? From the fall of Wall Street, the never ending wars and the bad
economy, why should we still be thankful to God? 1 Thessalonians says, "Rejoice always, pray
without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." This
means, no matter what we may go through, good or bad, God will always make a way for us. Even
at our darkest time or hour, God will always turn a negative into a positive, if we only believe and
trust in Him. Even in the book of Exodus, the Israelites sang a song of thanksgiving as they were
delivered from Pharoah's army after they crossed the Red Sea. And the book of Psalms is full of
songs of thanksgiving for God's grace to the Israelite people as well as for His individual graces to
each of us.

In this life there will always be things to complain about. But God gave us a choice. Do we choose
to be positive or negative? Is the glass half empty or full? No matter how grim our situations may
be, there will always be something to be thankful for. Did we live to see another day? Do we have
our health and strength? Are our families ok? Do we have clothes, food and shelter? If we only
believe and trust in God, He will give us our needs and not necessarily our wants. For Romans 8:
28-30 says, "For those who know Christ, God also works everything together for good, even
events we would not necessarily consider good." May God grant that He may find us grateful
everyday for all gifts- spiritual and material.

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