Life Is At Its Best When We Are Thankful

What are you thankful for this year? I was looking back at last year's column and it was pretty depressing. Not only were we at war, but we had just come through Katrina, Rita, and the devastating news of the tsunami was still fresh. It had been a pretty rough year.

This year we didn't have any hurricanes make landfall in our country, and for that I'm thankful. It was the first time in several years that we didn't. We needed a break and we got one.

I wish I could say the war was over, but maybe I can be thankful for that next year. And I wish I could say terrorism is no longer a threat, but I'm not sure I'll ever be able to say that again.

But the point of Thanksgiving is finding things for which to be thankful. The world will never be perfect, but there is always enough good to give us hope. It's up to us to look for it, find it, and remember it. If we really look, we can always find something.

The Pilgrims, who first celebrated Thanksgiving, had had a terribly rough year. Most of them had starved to death. Many more died from disease and attacks. Those who survived paused during the time of harvest and gave thanks. They were thankful to be alive. When Abraham Lincoln declared Thanksgiving a holiday, our country was deep in the Civil War, being torn apart and bloodied by opposing ideals and forces. He knew we needed to pause and think about blessings.

Yes, it is important to stop and give thanks, even if the only thing we are thankful for is that we survived another year.

You see, it is at that moment that we begin to realize there truly are many things good about our lives. We begin to think about the joy our loved ones give. We remember our shelter, transportation, job, friendships, our kids' successes in school, clothing, church, and our daily bread. We are thankful for getting well when we were sick or for living another year with our sight and hearing intact. Maybe we got a raise. Maybe we reconciled with an old friend. Maybe we learned something we never knew before.

And then it hits us: maybe life isn't so bad after all. Maybe there is reason to have hope. Didn't that friend with cancer survive? Isn't medicine moving forward? Doesn't my faith give me hope in the future?

Without hope, life would not be worth living and being thankful reminds us of the hope we have. That's why I think Thanksgiving is so important and why I am glad it's a national holiday.

If we don't teach our children to be thankful, they may go through life without hope and they may not appreciate the world around them. How sad to live with blinders on to all but our own interests. How sad to go through life with a chip on your shoulder. How sad to go through life with no desire to take care of our world. Teach your children to be thankful. Count your blessings and let them hear you. Tell them they are high on your list.

My wife says Thanksgiving is the "middle child" of the holidays and some people overlook it. She's right and that's sad. Life is more than a party, and it's more than giving and receiving presents. Life is at its best when we are thankful.

What are you thankful for this year? I'm thankful for faith, hope and love. Sometimes that's all we have, but it's always all we need.

You can contact Craig Harris at www.apparentlyso.net.