More Than Being Thankful

There are plenty of things to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. But what if I told you that being thankful is not what Thanksgiving is about. Why should being thankful be limited to one day a year? Perhaps, this day is more than just that. 

Before Jesus fed the five thousand, he took a mere two loaves of bread and gave thanks. Jesus was thankful for two loaves of bread. Jesus gave thanks by feeding five thousand people with two loaves of bread. We give thanks by feeding a family with a feast of turkey. Now, I’m not saying that eating loads of food on Thanksgiving is wrong. I am simply using this as an example of how this day is not about giving thanks. However, there is with no doubt something profoundly special about Thanksgiving. 

If not for being thankful, then what is this day about?

Thanksgiving is about freedom. This is a day where we free ourselves from the pursuit of our highest ambitions. We are able to give up all the things we aim for and simply embrace the people we are thankful for. We are finally free to enjoy the beauty around us and the little moments of grace that we abide within. Thanksgiving is not a merely a day where we pursue an escape from our everyday life, but rather the day we lay that down and learn to smile deeply about the here and now.