The season of celebration is quickly approaching, whether we realize it or not. There are subtle hints as I check out at the grocery store and see a frozen turkey in many of the shopping carts. The leaves are drifting across the road, and shallow snow is appearing on and off, reminding us that deeper, more abundant white is on the way. But so is Thanksgiving and, of course, Christmas. Yes, there are sure signs that we are moving into what we call holiday time.

Thanksgiving is the first major celebration, offering extensive food preparation, usually for family and friends, and let’s not forget football. After dinner, living rooms will be filled with satisfied participants, who will lie, sit, or recline to watch football clashes on large-screen TVs.

I was thinking about the concept of thanksgiving rather than the word gratitude. What is the difference? At Thanksgiving, we tend to list all of the events and people we recall that have impacted our lives at this time of year. It is usually composed of family, friends, employment, successful endeavors we have participated in over the past year, and sundry other good things in our lives. This is most admirable; it allows us to stand still for a moment and think. It makes us realize that life is worth living. We do tend to be a bit depressed by modern life and the abrasive nature of contemporary culture.

Let me give you an example of the complex world we live in now. I bought a new phone. Thinking that the new phone would be like my old one and would be a breeze to set up and manage, WRONG! My new phone took six hours to set up, did not transfer all my contacts, and even the small widget I had on the phone, which had moved to the new one, was useable only in a brand-new pattern. Frustrating, and confusing, I thought, why did I buy this thing! I was depressed, calling for help, waiting on the phone where loud music, punctuated every now and then with, “Your call is important to us, someone will be with you soon”. This is living in our digital age. The digital life we lead tends to overshadow the organic parts of living.

If you look at ‘thanks’ and ‘gratitude,’ we are really seeing two different things, although they are rooted in the same concept. They are about appreciation. Appreciation is a deeper well, a spiritual abundance given to show us the gifts of a loving God. In the Bible appreciation is expressed as gratitude to our God. We recognize here the blessings and love that God has for his people. “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you”. (Thessalonians 5:18). This gratitude is to deepen our trust in God, even in difficult times and situations. God never leaves us; He is faithful and present to us every moment of our lives.

Thanksgiving, in the American understanding of the holiday, came about as the Pilgrims had a feast, a day full of plenty that they shared with all who came. It was a joy that they had made the transition to a new land and, for that day, had overcome so many problems.They were thankful for God’s protection and grace, sustaining their survival and His presence in their current community.

We are as Americans so blessed with abundance and plenty. It was George Washington who made the first day of Thanksgiving in 1789, our infant nation, which had been through so much, was asked to give praise and Thanks to God. Later in 1863, Lincoln declared the last Thursday in November a day of Thanksgiving. Our country was fighting a Civil War at the time. It later became a public holiday by Congress in 1941.

Our country has from its beginnings stopped to thank God for His blessings. I wonder today if we think as Thanksgiving as a day to offer gratitude to God for his many blessings on our country. We seem to have moved far away from the concept of gratitude to a more mercenary idea that our country is here to serve our needs and wants.

I can hear the voice of John F. Kennedy at his 1960 inauguration, when he said, “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.” This is the root of Thanksgiving and the mover of gratitude as we enter the holiday of festive food and fellowship. Our God is with us; include Him in your dinner with a prayer of thanks and gratitude not only for our nation, but for our families, our community, and our future.

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; His love endures forever. (Psalm 107:1)