As November comes to a close, we prepare for the colder months ahead.
Temperatures dippedinto the 20s one night last week, giving us a taste of what is to come. The field behind the house waswhite with frost the next morning, and the foliage on my lovely coxcombs is looking a bit bedraggled. Soon I will have to harvest and cook my last Swiss chard. Jim finally removed the air conditioner from the living room window and carried it to the shop. It’s a pretty sure bet we won’t be needing it again until next summer. Miss Abby, our cat, is unhappy,though, that he’s removed the perch from which she peered into the house.
I enjoyed a holiday meal at the Senior Center at mid-month, a lovely gathering with friends, and watched as they drew the name of the winner for the quilt. I didn’t win it but was pleased that it went to old friends. Then, a couple of days later, I gathered with other family members at nephew Dustan’s home near Centerton for another bountiful meal. The weather was beautiful that Sunday afternoon, and the youngsters in the family really had a merry time playing in his big front yard while we finished preparations for our dinner.
Reading early accounts of the harvest feast at Plymouth Colony remindsus how these thanksgiving gatherings started. We know from these writings that the Pilgrims’ first year was one of extreme hardship. They suffered hunger, severe weather, Indian attacks and a devastating plague that killed more than half the settlers who had arrived on the Mayflower. Yet, inthat autumn of 1621, they had food stored for the winter, their small houses were reasonably snug and Governor William Bradford proclaimed that there should be a “harvest feast,” a time for giving thanks and having some fun.
Almost 250 years later, on October 3, 1863, the War Between the States raged on and President Abraham Lincoln was weary with his responsibilities. Yet, despite the perils of life, he realized he had much for which to be thankful. He could still write, “The year that is drawing to a close has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To those bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added.”
With this introduction, acknowledging “the everwatchful providence of Almighty God,” he established as a national custom the observance of the fourth Thursday of November as a day of Thanksgiving. Americans had observed occasional days of thanksgiving and festival ever since Governor Bradford had declared that first one at Plymouth. And, in years that followed, the custom spread to other colonies. At the end of the Revolutionary War, George Washington proclaimed Nov. 23, 1789, as a day for the new nation to thank God.
We too often take what we have for granted and wish we had more. Our thanksgiving is not to be measured by the abundance of our crops, the size of our bank account, the make or model of our car. It comes out of the assurance that God is with us, whatever our condition, when we honor our Creator. Such a faith gives us divine support as we face today’s uncertainties.
In a scene from Archibald MacLeish’s play, “J.B.,” the mother isdisturbed because her children seem to be enjoying their turkey dinner without any outward thankfulness. She believes that God has given to the family bountifully because of J.B.’s loyalty to Him and she fears that the Lord might withdraw His blessings if the family fails to thank Him properly. J.B. replies, “Thanks are part of love and paid like love: Free gift or not worth having.”
Perhaps here is revealed the secret of real thanks; it must be freely given, not required. A child’s forced and grudging “thank you” is nearly as painful to receive as it is for the child to give. But the unexpected enthusiastic thanks of afriend for a small gesture warms our hearts.
God gives us innumerable gifts, many of which go unnoticed by us. But we continue to receive them whether we thank Him for them or not. When we do recognize the good things God has provided, let us freely and truly give thanks. And let us pray that He will forgive our hypocritical mouthing of “thank yous” we don’t feel and help us to cultivate a sensitivity to His gifts and an honest thankfulness for them.
Susan Holland, who works for the Westside Eagle Observer, is a lifelong Benton County native. She can be reached at [email protected].
Opinion, Pages 6 on 11/28/2012