Thanksgiving 2014

"Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NRSV)

It's a little after 9 AM on Thanksgiving morning, and I'm sitting here with what will probably be the first of a couple of cups of coffee.  I didn't sleep well last night, so I got up early and watched the sun creep over the Wasatch mountains to the east.  I work nights, so that's not a sight I see very often.  It was very beautiful though.

I think it's easy for Thanksgiving to either become a cliche or disappear totally as it's swallowed up by the enormous glut of greed that kicks off the "Christmas shopping season."  When we do still take the time to gather round the table as family and friends, often we make a show out of talking about what we're thankful for, but I wonder, do we really consider it?  I'm not sure that I do.  It seems in our society we always WANT more and more.  Even when I pray I have a much easier time coming up with things that I WANT from God as opposed to be being grateful for what I do have.

So I tried to give it some serious thought as I sat here this morning.  Of course I'm thankful for all the things that we so easily remember: my family, my friends, the roof over my head, the food on my table, my job, and the things I do for fun.  However I also came up with two other things that I may not have thought about much over the last couple of years.

The first of these things that I'm thankful for is the mistakes I make in life.  Now this might sound a bit on the odd side, but it's true.  I think that in our mistakes we see the biggest opportunity for growth and learning.  Certainly it's not always easy to learn from mistakes.  Sometimes it takes a huge effort, and that it something I lack occasionally.  I hope to change that both now and in the future though. Through recognizing mistakes and the powerful opportunities that they can present, I believe that there is a great chance to latch on to large strides of personal growth.

The second thing is the love of Christ that I've rediscovered in recent months.  It has helped my change my attitude on so many fronts, or at least given me the potential to change it.  I've started to see the world through the lens of Christ's love and mercy, both for me and for others, for the first time in a few years.  In recent years I was always a negative Nancy, a troll so to speak.  I was that guy who would jump on twitter or facebook on Thanksgiving morning and and try to give everyone a guilt trip over certain facts of American history.  You know the kind of person I'm talking about.  "Oh that's nice that you're having a huge meal today, celebrating the fact that your ancestors wiped out a whole people." In my mind, I was giving people perspective.  In reality what I was doing was turning people off to me and anything worthwhile that I might have had to say.  I was so negative all the time.

Don't get me wrong, I still am sometimes, but I have noticed a marked improvement.  When love and mercy for everyone started to become my focus more and more, I started to find meaning in places that I never knew existed, even on a holiday that ignores some pretty dark moments in history.

In the end things in the past should be remembered so that we can indeed learn from the mistakes we've made, but beginning to see the world through love and mercy instead of constant negativity allows us not only to remember the past, but to shape the future in ways that are good for everyone. Through this we can exchange guilt and derision for reconciliation and forgiveness, and for that I'm truly thankful.

I hope everyone has a good Thanksgiving and a wonderful holiday season!