Thanksgiving, Past, Present, and Future 

   Tomorrow marks the 400^th anniversary of the first Thanksgiving, a time for the Pilgrims to thank God, joining with the local natives and celebrating the harvest that fed them.  My, how things have changed.  Today this holiday is shunned by many and pushed aside by commercial interests.

   Thanksgiving was once a “Thanksgiving Weekend”.  Many people had both Thursday and Friday off from work.  Many stores were closed, and life slowed down for a few days.  Families gathered to thank God for His many blessings.

   These days Thanksgiving is barely a breather in the chaotic Christmas shopping fiasco.  A hectic ordeal which now begins on or before Halloween and continues up to and through Christmas Eve.  In some places the sales and chaos even continue on Christmas Day.

   What of the future for Thanksgiving?  I can see a time when it becomes just a long lunch.  A break in the spending extravaganza that Christmas has become.  No longer a time to give thanks, but to hurry to the next store for the next bargain.  God is no longer mentioned but the gods of society, money, selfishness, and greed are paid great homage.

   How I wish we could go back to those days when Thanksgiving was a slower time when we truly gave thanks to God for all our blessings.  A time for family and friends.  Or perhaps I was just dreaming of better times that never existed. 

I give You thanks Lord.

For family and friends.

Thanks for the wonder of creation.

Thanks for so many blessings. 

Amen