Thanksgiving

The first Thanksgiving was a meal held by the Pilgrims after a fairly grim year.  Somehow they had weathered a harsh Massachusetts winter, only losing a third of their population in the process.  They had worked hard -- very hard -- all summer with fairly meager results.  And yet they decided to have a meal dedicated in praise to God.

Of course, we all know that the reason that the Pilgrims were thankful, was that they had heard about a famine in Africa.  Hearing about starving people in sub-Saharan Africa made them much more grateful for their little harvest.

Wait.  Scratch that last paragraph.  I don't believe there is anyone who has truly been made grateful for what they have, or for their lot in life, by realizing that someone else has it worse.  Otherwise, there are millions of children who would snatch up their forks to eat their green beans at the mere mention of starving children in other countries.

It is still awfully easy to convince ourselves that we can become thankful by reading or hearing about someone worse off.  Yet, how could you really come to a grateful heart through the message of the words:  "It might be worse!"?

Those first Pilgrims came to that Thanksgiving with hearts filled to overflowing -- not because their lot was better than some others, but because God had been good to them.

My son, Vince, has had a lot of "issues" as he has grown up.  Food allergies, frequent vomiting, delayed speech and many other things have afflicted him.  As I was coming to grips with his condition, I wanted things to be different.  I often read stories about children with more severe delays than Vince and I never felt any better, or more thankful.

And then one day, I realized that I am grateful for Vince for who he is.  I can't imagine him being any different, or loving him any more.  He was and is a gift to our family, without price and without measure.  And in that knowledge, at last, I truly felt thankful.