Thanksgiving Chapel

In this season of Thanksgiving, it is easy to remember to be thankful for all we have. I could easily list off many things that I am thankful for: my parents, my brothers, my friends, my education; but I think that we need to take time to look deeper at this idea of thankfulness.

At large family gatherings on my mom's side, which always occur around Christmas, my uncle reminds us of the need to be thankful throughout the year, and has our family go around the table and say what we are thankful for in the past year. Even only a month after Thanksgiving, finding things to be thankful for seems out of the ordinary. Veggietales has an entire episode about thankfulness, "Madame Blueberry," and Junior Asparagus and his dad sing: "For a God who really cares, And He listens to our prayers, that's why we say thanks everyday!" It's important to be thankful every day, both during Thanksgiving and throughout the year.

Think with me for a second of three things you're thankful for. Your list is probably similar to your neighbor's or to mine: friends, family, school. What's missing? During the service on Thanksgiving Eve at my home church, our pastors ask the congregation what they're thankful for. Forcing us to step out of the stereotypical Norwegian Lutheran heritage that our church functions under, microphones are passed around the congregation and various people stand up and say what they're thankful for. Grandmothers are thankful for new grandchildren, men and women are thankful for their job or their spouse, and three-year-olds are thankful for their mommy and daddy, for ice cream, and for Santa Claus. Although our thanks is in the context of "I thank God for this", and thanks is always expressed for our church and our pastors, never do we hear anyone say "I am thankful for God" or "I thank God for His Grace, for salvation". The only mention of our thankfulness for God and His saving Grace is during the liturgy and prayers. Although I do believe that it is important to express our thanks to God through prayer, I also think that He should be among our list of things we are thankful for, first on that list even.

So both in this season of Thanksgiving and throughout the year, I urge you to take the time to thank God. Thank Him for your schooling, for your friends and family, but also thank Him for His Presence, thank God for God, thank God for Jesus.

Let us pray:
Heavenly Father, we thank you for all you have given us, for our families, our friends, and the opportunity we have to be here today. Lord, thank you also for Your presence, for your Grace and peace in our lives.In your name we pray, Amen.