Thanksgiving Message

For many this is the most awaited holiday that couldn’t come fast enough and for others it’s a day that can’t come and GO fast enough. Everyone’s understanding, values and beliefs of Thanksgiving are different and how we choose to celebrate it. To many if not all, Thanksgiving is considered a day where many of us are setting aside time to give thanks for one's blessings, our gratitude in life, along with holding feasts to celebrate a harvest or in many families just holding a feast and preparing to watch that drunk cousin, uncle and/or aunt (heck maybe ya mama) act a fool 🤣🤣 and don’t act like we all don’t have one. 

But for many this is just another day. It’s just the fourth Thursday in November. Even though Thanksgiving brings many families together on this ONE day often we miss the true message of the word “thanksgiving”. It’s been said and written that celebrating "thanksgivings"—days of prayer was thanking God for blessings such as military victory or the end of a drought. Being thankful isn't just for the Thanksgiving holiday. Scripture tells us to be "thankful in everything, in all circumstances" (1 Thessalonians 5:18). When we find ourselves overwhelmed with burdens and worried about tomorrow, we can praise God for who he is and his promise to never leave us or forsake us. We have been blessed with the free gift of salvation and eternal life! So on today, while many of you sit with your loved ones (or even the ones you don’t love but sit with them on today 🤷😖) I want you to take heed of the message and understanding of Thanksgiving. For today is just one day and when the day is done many will continue on with their lives and for many those family members we hugged and kissed won’t be seen for another 365 days unless death occurs. 

Thanksgiving is definitely a day that many look forward to, but it shouldn’t be celebrated just once a year. Our hearts should be filled with Thanksgiving every day. We should celebrate every day. We should always be thankful of all the blessings that we receive and appreciate that in which we do have more, than that in which we don’t have. Everyday is Thanksgiving because we have yet another day to create memories, another page in our life that we can direct and another day to fight our battles. So as you eat, drink and be merry today remember Thanksgiving tomorrow and the day after; and I don’t mean because of the leftovers but because of God’s grace and mercy. Give thanks for the new day & thanks for unknown blessings that are surely on the way. 

“It is not happy people who are thankful .... it is thankful people who are happy”💕💕💕 

I never cared much for the holidays, it was always a weird vibe for me, maybe because my family really didn't come together as much as others. But this one year (Thanksgiving 2013) I don't know how I talked my mother into this Thanksgiving dinner at our house. It was something we had NEVER done before, to have all my grandmother's children present, along with their children and their children, etc ... you all get the point right. This picture below captures everyone I want to say, minus 2 grandchildren and minus 2 great grandchildren who weren't even born nor a thought; because Monique didn't have an army of kids back then LOL ... This picture ended up being one of my favorite family photos for many reasons ... 

1. it showed me that I wasn't having any kids because it seemed we only made girls recently

2. majority of all of us were present

and the final reason why this ended up becoming my all time favorite picture

3. none of us knew that this would be our final picture taken with Mikey. Exactly one week later he died. And every time I look at this picture and my brother with his arm around him and me holding his daughter that he left behind it reminds me of how thankful I was that we were able to pull this event off and come together for this one day but saddened that we didn't do it more often ... because our next gathering was his funeral. 

Today, I’m aware of the fact that life is way better than I deserve. The world is full of pain and suffering, hardship, disappointment and regret. So the fact that I am learning to be much more thankful and mean it is, in its own way, a miracle. I’m learning there is a responsibility that comes with privilege. That I am blessed to bless. Gifted to give. Many of us are not lucky or fortunate; but what I have learned is that I am expected to do something with the grace I’ve been given. And so are you. Being grateful is a choice. 

So once the day has died down, take some time, wherever you are and whatever you’re doing, to come up with a gratitude list. If it doesn’t come naturally, don’t let that stop you from still giving thanks. There is still much to be thankful for, if we only have eyes to see.

Happy Thanksgiving ⭐