Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all you lands! Serve the Lord with gladness; come before His presence with singing. Know that the Lord, He is God; it is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Enter His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him and bless His name. For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures to all generations. Psalm 100

Today is Thanksgiving Day in the United States. A day which is set aside for the specific purpose of giving thanks to God for His bounty and blessing. But, alas, it seems to me that the real purpose has gotten lost in the busyness, the shift away from the original intent of the day, and the establishment of family traditions that do not include any emphasis on giving God thanks.

I guess some would argue that Thanksgiving Day is simply a national holiday established in 1863 when Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national Thanksgiving Day to be held each November. There were many underlying factors that led to this proclamation, but the primary one for Lincoln was the Civil War (quite a misnomer, don’t you think – there’s really nothing civil about war!).

However, the idea of a day of thanksgiving goes back much further than that. Thanksgiving celebrations are known to have been held as far back as 1621, when the Plymouth colonists (we know them as the Pilgrims) and the Wampanoag Indians shared a feast of thanksgiving.

This spirit of thanksgiving could be thought of in some ways as part of our American heritage. But, as I stated earlier, it seems to me that the original intent and meaning behind the day has been lost, or at least altered.

I am sure that there will be many gatherings of family and friends today that will include no time for giving thanks to God for His blessings. As a matter of fact, I’m quite sure that many will have no idea that this was the intent of the idea of a national day of Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving celebrations should certainly include time for family and friends, for feasting and football, for sharing and remembering, for enjoying time with those we see very seldom and those we see regularly. Enjoy the day, and the time we have. Cherish the moments, build memories, share stories of the past, share hopes for the future. Yes, by all means enjoy the day!

But in the midst of all that – whatever ‘that’ means to you and yours – make sure that God has His rightful place. Not as one who is given a simple ‘thank you’ in our prayer over the feast, but One who is center of all we do as we gather to give Him thanks.

Our Thanksgiving is going to look quite different this year. There are empty chairs around the table. But there is One who is always there – let’s give HIM His rightful place.

Happy Thanksgiving!