In 1621, the Plymouth colonists and Wampanoag Indians shared an autumn harvest feast which is acknowledged today as one of the first Thanksgiving celebrations in the colonies. This harvest meal has become a symbol of cooperation and interaction between English colonists and Native Americans. Although this feast is considered by many to the very first Thanksgiving celebration, it was actually in keeping with a long tradition of celebrating the harvest and giving thanks for a successful bounty of crops.

As the years have passed and we, as a people, have become further and further removed from "the harvest" the holiday has begun to resemble less of a celebration of the God provided bounty of the earth, and more of a pre-sale family get-together.  However, it is still a family tradition in many households to sit around the table and share a little personal moment about what we are each thankful for before heaping our plates with mounds of food and retiring in to watch the Detroit Lions get beat...again.

This year I anticipate that there will be repeats of this scene all over America.  American's always manage to find a way to be thankful, regardless of the circumstances.  The siver lining syndrome.   With the "global" economy on the precipice of collapse, joblessness on the rise, conflicts continuing or erupting around the world and an uneasiness undergirding most American's daily lives I am reminded of a story my Grandfather told me about holidays during The Great Depression.

My Grandfather was the son of Swedish immigrants, and like all Swedish families of the day, he was born in Minnesota.  He was a young teenage boy when the crash of 1929 heralded a change in the world for him.  He lived on the family farm with a very large extended family.  I remember him telling me that the farm had saved their lives.  While they went without many material things, they seldom went hungry because of the industry and dedication the family spend maintaining and nurturing their farm.  Times were indeed hard, the normal customers for Grandpa's farm could not afford to pay for the produce in most cases, but Grandpa's family made sure no neighbor ever went hungry and come Thanksgiving, they would not break with tradition and, regardless of the personal cost, would still host a massive Thanksgiving feast.  Friends, family and neighbors would gather at the farm and give thanks, even during the darkest of times.

My great-grandparents were not a particularly religious lot, but they were an extremely reverent band.  There was never an doubt in the minds of my Grandpa's family that there was a God and that He was good.  It was He who caused the rain to fall and the weather to hold so there was always reason to give thanks.   Their acts of thanksgiving were not made in fear of offending an angry God who might withhold blessings or punish an offense, but of sincere, heartfelt gratitude for life.

This year, I, like many of you, am staring down the barrel of some fairly extreme adversity.  The economy has taken a significant toll on my personal business and the F.U.D. (Fear - Uncertainty - Doubt) weighs heavy on my heart most days. My mother, only 60 years old,  has been going through a year of health struggles that have left her mentally diminished and physically dependent upon my sister and I.  Like the majority of you I have seen massive upheaval in my  retirement  and college savings accounts.  I have watched a great many of my friends loose jobs they loved and struggle to find a way to continue to feed and care for their families.   With all that adversity you would think that there is just no room to pause for Thanksgiving, but I can not ignore the Bounty or the promise that God is good and this too shall pass.  I am externally compelled to give thanks.

My lovely wife is in the other room preparing a meal that 90% of the worlds population could not fathom.  My two gorgeous boys are playfully cleaning their rooms and giggling in anticipation of having their cousins over to play.  My car is running, despite the 160K miles it just turned over. (Its a Chevy people, they do make damn good trucks!).  We made payroll at my company this month and I am not late on my mortgage or insurance payments.  I have watch dear friends bring beautiful babies into the world this year.  I have not had to make any hard sacrifices or watch my friends or family do so either.  I am warm. I am full and I am loved. 

When we distill our lives down to the base essence of what makes us happy, of what it is that causes us to spontaneously give thanks, we find that the superfluous distractions of the economy, politics, 401Ks and stock portfolios don't make it into that final pure distillate. 

What makes it through the fire for you? What are you truly thankful for this year? What circumstances, beyond your control, are hindering your enjoyment of the gifts that really matter, of the tangible and intangible things that cause you to be uncontrollably thankful? Dwell on that.  Fill your heart and mind with those things and give thanks, not because it could be worse, but because you can not help but be thankful for the blessings you do have.

---WARNING RELIGIOUS CONTENT TO FOLLOW---

There is a passage in the Bible that always confused and frustrated me:  2 Corinthians 12.   In this passage St. Paul is told by God that despite all his afflictions that His "grace was sufficient".  I never got that, it felt like an emotional crutch or a silly mantra that I could repeat over and over until I "felt" better.  Yet, as I grow older, and I see the transitory nature of things and of life, I am increasingly drawn to that passage.  "My grace is sufficient for you."

So today, no matter where you find your self, or under whatever weight that burdens you, take careful account of what blessings you do enjoy and remember that His grace is sufficient for you.  It is all you really need.  It is the one overriding factor that will cause your heart to spontaneously be compelled to give thanks. 

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving time, let your heart be free and un-troubled, allow the awe and wonder of life compel you to give thanks.