Why Thanksgiving?
Hey it’s Matt Potratz here. I’m so glad you chose to Rise Up with me this Sunday morning. I want to take a few minutes this morning to reflect on the holiday we just celebrated this week. Over the years Thanksgiving has become the holiday I most look forward to. I’ve never taken the time to explain why nor have I really even questioned myself why. Why Thanksgiving? I don’t get excited about food so I’ve known it wasn’t that.
My good friend and mentor Eric Weatherman from Kettle Falls, WA sent out a letter last thanksgiving that uncovered for me why it is that I like it so much. I’m going to read you part of his letter. At one point, he wrote these words…..
“Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. It’s an American tradition; the day we give thanks for all we have. Thanks for the things, the conditions and the people we may take completely for granted the other 364 days of the year.
What I love most about Thanksgiving is the purity of it. Notice how we don’t buy each other gifts. You know, the gifts we must make sure are at least as good as the ones we think we will receive. The gifts we cannot afford. The gifts we end up paying for, many months after the holiday has passed.
Notice how it does not matter what religion we practice. Anyone can celebrate Thanksgiving. It is the holiday that celebrates diversity and inclusion as was the basis for the original gathering. Kind of like how our forefathers envisioned us as a country.
Notice how there aren’t any goofball, make-believe characters that we have morphed into being the icon of Thanksgiving. Not even the turkey has taken on any meaning, other than food for our feast. Now I don’t have anything against Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny, Jack O Lanterns or Leprechauns. They are fun ways to relate holidays to our children or grand children. The reality is that in many cases the true meaning of these characters have little to do with the original intent or purpose for recognizing these occasions, nor does spending billions of borrowed dollars to celebrate these characters. I like Thanksgiving for the fact that most of the spending we will do will most often benefit someone else. Let’s face it we can only eat so much, the rest must be for others. As I gather with family and friends to share good food and thanks I see a real genuine gratitude that can only come from sincere appreciation and recognition for how important each of us are to each other.”
I hope you’ll join Eric and myself in appreciating the purity of Thanksgiving and in carrying that purity on thru this holiday season. We can so easily lose the true reason for and meaning of this great season. There are so many distractions that steal away our attention and even our joy, and we look back on moments missed wondering how the time slipped away. I urge you to slow down right now and think…what are you truly most thankful for? I’m betting the answer is people, not material things. Now, invest time in what you decided is most worthy of your thankfulness.
Have a great start to your December and if you want more words to help you better your life, join me today or any Sunday morning @ New Bridges Community Church, Johnson Ave in downtown Orofino, 10:10am. Thanks for joining me here on KLER.
