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Rediscovering the True Meaning of Thanksgiving

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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!

ThanksLIVING

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Thanksgiving is once again upon us. The official day set aside as Thanksgiving is one week from today. As I think about the many, many things for which I am thankful, there is one thing in particular that I would like to write about in this blog.

Teresa (my wife) and I, as many of you know, are full-time RVers. We have been living the RV life since my retirement in 2018. About 10 years prior to my retirement, we began planning for this new adventure, and for these past seven years it has been a huge blessing to see this dream come true.

Over these years of RV living, we have been met with mixed reactions from people when we tell them of our present living status. We have met quite a few who have responded by saying something like this: “That’s exactly what we want to do when we retire!” Others have said that they envy us for living our dream. And we have even had a few who said they wanted to be like us when they grow up! It is always a joy to share our adventures with others who express their excitement over the prospect of living the nomad life.

However, others have not been quite so enthusiastic about our decision. Some, without realizing that this was our decision, based on our dreams, have asked if we were forced into this lifestyle due to financial restraints. Well, I can honestly say that we are a far cry from being wealthy, but we were not forced into this lifestyle because of finances. We chose this lifestyle. Others have become somewhat incredulous over the thought that anyone would ever choose to live as full-time RVers. But we did – and over these past seven years we have met so many others who have made the same decision.

Let me take a few moments to share with you some of my thoughts of thankfulness for the incredible journey. Teresa and I have been married since 1973 – 51 years! We have traversed these years together through 40 years of pastoral ministry, teaching ministry, marriage counseling and seminars, and a countless number of personal, one-on-one ministry opportunities. I am so blessed for these opportunities, and thankful that God gave us these special blessings as we have served Him together.

But these past seven years have offered us ministry opportunities we would have never had if we had not decided to become full-time RVers. We have now lived in just three campgrounds during these past seven years: Camp Wilderness Campground at Carowinds, Mill Creek Campground (Pigeon Forge, TN) while we worked at Dollywood, and now Wateree Lake RV and Marina (Liberty Hill, SC) where I serve as campground chaplain. We have crossed paths with people we would never have met had it not been for living the RV lifestyle.

We realize that this lifestyle is not for everyone. But it is for us. And we feel it is for us because it is God’s plan for us at this stage of our lives. We are thankful for the amazing way He has opened door after door for us to meet people with whom we have been able to share His love and grace.

This Thanksgiving season we want to give Him the thanks and praise He so richly deserves for allowing us to share in the blessings of showing His love to others who might not hear otherwise. To Him be the glory, great things He has done.

Until next time:

Blessings