Thanksgiving sometimes seems impossible. but is is always necessary.

The early Thanksgivings.

How the Pilgrims got through the winter of 1622 amazes me.

Unwanted guests arriving from the old world and a bad growing season led to inadequate resources. There was no supply chain. They needed to survive on food rations of a mere five kernels of corn per day. In hunger and want, their faith deepened, they continued to be thankful.

The next year, Thanksgiving of 1623 they enjoyed a feast but it began with a serving of five kernels of corn, reminding them of the the sustaining hand of God in times when the circumstances were desperate.

Every Thanksgiving their five kernels of corn challenges me to evaluate my faith in God and my understanding of Thanksgiving.

Abraham Lincoln's Thanksgiving Proclamation

Two hundred years later, Lincoln's Thanksgiving proclamation stirred a nation ravaged by Civil War. War time, when a half million died and burned ruins marked the land, seems like the wrong time to be thankful.  But thankfulness was just what a divided nation needed. 

One paragraph seeks thankfulness while recognizing need.

"It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently, and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American people. I do, therefore, invite my fellow-citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next as a Day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the heavens. And I recommend to them that, while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners, or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty hand to heal the wounds of the nation, and to restore it, as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes, to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquility, and union."

You can read Lincoln's full proclamation by cutting a pasting the following website. (https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/sites/default/files/docs/transcript_for_abraham_lincoln_thanksgiving_proclamation_1863.pdf.)

This year's Thanksgiving

There are new reasons to be troubled this year, and old losses still are painful, especially as the holidays begin. Is thankfulness possible? How can thankfulness help us?

We need to be careful, as we care for a grieving or suffering person, not to force thankfulness where it is not felt, nor to try to make something that is tragic to be positive. But if we are alert we may be able to find a way to express thankfulness within the dark and sad experience. At the bedside of many deaths I prayed, "Thank you Lord for life, the opportunity to live, the life of this person, the life that has come into this world through them, the legacy of their life and the hope of eternal life. Please comfort this grieving family with the hope that only your can give."

In the anguish of the loss, the grieving cling to the memory of their loved one. Being thankful does not take the pain away, nor does it say the grieving person should be happy and look at the bright side, but it does give them something to hold on to that helps them get through one moment, one step and onto the next moment and take the next step. It might help them lift their eyes and heart for a moment to see

Thankfulness can help one survive and find strength to keep living.

The same can be true for the world in times of war, division and hatred. While we are sad, angry, tired and feeling vulnerable, we can be thankful that we are alive for such a time as this, that we can pray and have faith for peace that will come someday. And as we express thanks for the smallest provisions and experiences of protection, comfort, pleasure or relief our faith matures and our character is sanctified.

If people could be thankful in the need, grief and divisions of the historic Thanksgivings, then we should seek the same Source of a grateful heart to help us be thankful. Offering care is the perfect opportunity to merge need and thanks.

I hope your Thanksgiving is meaningful and joyful. Your care matters.