I’m one of those people – the kind that has to wait until after Thanksgiving before I start decorating for Christmas or listening to Christmas music. I actually really love Thanksgiving. Of course, the food is amazing. Every family seems to have their own Thanksgiving traditions when it comes to food. For my family it’s Holy Pudding and Monkey Pod Bread. For Brittany’s family it’s Heavenly Pink Fluff and Case Noodle. At our Thanksgiving, there’s always football on TV, great food on the table, fun times with family, and of course the tryptophan nap that afternoon after I have a belly full of turkey.
But, one of the greatest reasons I love Thanksgiving, is that we have an entire day set aside to intentionally think about the things we are thankful for. A few years ago at St. Luke’s, we celebrated the Year of Gratitude. We encouraged everyone to keep a gratitude journal to reflect each day on the things we are grateful for. It still amazes me how many people talk about what a difference that made in their lives. I know many who have continued to keep their gratitude journal for several years now. We also encouraged everyone to take time each day to write a thank you note to someone who deserves our gratitude.
I want to encourage everyone to join me in practicing these two things for the next week as we lead up to Thanksgiving. Take time each day to write down one thing you are thankful for that day. And each day, take time to write one hand-written thank you note to someone in your life. You might be amazed how these two simple things begin to change your perspective on life. I believe if we do these two things together, our experience of Thanksgiving will be enriched and we will be much more prepared to start the Advent season.
