T hanksgiving, a time we celebrate in honor of a harvest feast that happened in 1621 between the Plymouth Colonies and the Wampanoag Native Americans, at this feast a Turkey was served. It wasn’t until 1863 in the middle of the Civil War President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed it as Thanksgiving Day to be held each November. We continue to honor this holiday in November with friends and family around a meal. Whether you celebrate Thanksgiving or not, every day should be a day of Thanksgiving. The definition of Thanksgiving is the expression of gratitude, especially to God. I know the past two years have been tough for many of us, I may not have experienced your pain and you may not have experienced mine. However, we can empathize with each other. The 2 Chapter of Timothy 2:12 reads: “if we suffer, we shall also reign with Him: if we deny Him, He also will deny us”. Unfortunately, in this world we will face suffering and many times that suffering is unfair and unjust. Nevertheless, Jesus is faithful, and waiting for us to call on Him, not only in bad times but the good times as well. If you are still standing after these past two years, then give Thanks. I know some of us have had to deal with Covid, and the sickness from it, and some of you may have even lost loved ones due to Covid or other natural causes or other forms of sickness and disease. Some of us may have lost our jobs, and maybe still out of work, still struggling to pay the bills, many businesses and churches have had to close. Many families experienced divorce. What can and should we take away from all that has happened within the past few years? 1. To be Thankful for everyday that God gives us breath to see another day on this earth. 2. Never take God’s blessings for granted, if we can learn anything from these past few years, mainly life is short and shouldn’t be taken for granted, including how much our friends and family really do love us. So many lives lost to this pandemic, I hope for a wake-up call for all of us to live everyday like it’s our last. What does live each day like it’s your last look like? Does it mean you should party, drink and smoke your life away, does it mean you should go out and have a hay day in the bedroom with whomever, or do you go around full of anger/ bitterness towards anyone crossing your path? God forbid. If you had one week left on this earth, what would you do? Think about the afterlife, is your name written in the Lambs Book of Life? Have you accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior? If you have accepted Jesus, would you still hold onto bitterness in your heart, unforgiveness, hate, envy, or jealousy towards your friends, family or your enemies? Would you stop and think how it would be to have your soul spend eternity with Jesus or eternity with Satan? Some people have been informed they only have so many days or weeks to live, and then some of us don’t even get that much notice. The bible tells us in Proverbs 27:1 “Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring.” Since we don’t know but God does, let’s Thank God for blessing us to see another day. Think about the small things we take for granted and begin to Thank God for the small things. What would you change if you began to live life everyday like it was your last, would you say hello to your neighbor, appreciate and thank your food servers, waiters and waitresses, would you appreciate doctors, nurses, and teachers for not giving up? Most importantly, how about taking some time out to Thank and honor yourself, for being a hard-working mother/ father, husband/ wife or a single parent, a son or daughter taking care of your elderly parents. So, remember whether you celebrate Thanksgiving or not remember every day is truly a blessing from God. From the office of Thomas & Associates Counseling & Consulting, we pray you have a wonderful Thanksgiving and remember God Loves you and He has a plan and purpose for your life, a plan to prosper and not to harm you a plan to give you hope and a future (Jer: 29:11). Happy Thanksgiving Caleb Thomas M.A. LMHC 319 206-0651 thomasacc.com Thomas & Associates Counseling & Consulting Counseling with a God given purpose! 35
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