What About November? Thanksgiving?

Well, here it is - November 4th.  The temperature outside is a chilly 34 degrees.  The garden has been put to bed and gray November skies have set in.  The pumpkins and the ground were covered with frost this morning and most of the trees have lost their coverings.  My pansies are in mourning and still have not lifted their heads, despite the sun putting in a good showing today.

 

 

Halloween is over and for that alone, I am thankful.  The Halloween and fall decorations have been taken down in the stores and now all that means Christmas in the retail world has been set out.  Christmas carols are being played in the stores already.  The Hallmark channel has started their annual Christmas Movie Marathon.  And, truth be known, I enjoy those "sappy" movies, but I'm left wondering - what about November?  What about Thanksgiving?  I am very excited to celebrate Christmas.  I love everything about the holiday, but still I think - wait a minute - we need to celebrate Thanksgiving first! 

Why has this holiday been "shoved aside"?  Is it just because of commercialism or is there something deeper here?  Thanksgiving - giving thanks - have we lost the ability to do that in the culture we live in?  Giving thanks requires a humble heart - a heart that can see and acknowledge that something or someone other than our own hands provided what we needed.  In a country where everything Christian is under assault and where we "do it my way", have we lost the ability to say thanks?  Are we not able to acknowledge a God from "whom ALL blessings flow?"  Are we not able to recognize that to Him alone belongs the thanks and praise for all the blessings we enjoy?  Thanksgiving day seems to be just a quick stop for turkey and football, instead of an acknowledgement that God our Savior has blessed us abundantly.

"Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father

in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ."

Ephesians 5:20

 

 

I, for one, will not take down my Thanksgiving decorations until after Thanksgiving (although I must confess I have watched some Christmas movies!).  I will keep them up as a reminder that I am not in control of my life, that there is one who is greater, there is one who is infinitely loving and gracious, one who blesses me beyond measure and for that, I am thankful, so thankful.  I will keep them up to remind me daily (because, yes, I do forget) to give thanks to my God who so abundantly provides, not just material things, but all things that my soul needs to prosper.

 

 

 

"O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: fior his mercy endureth for ever."

Psalm 136:1