This past week we celebrated a national holiday. It was a time when people gathered together for one purpose. The media did its part in promoting the holiday by constantly reminding us of its coming and its value. Anticipation grew as the day grew closer. The apparent importance of the holiday has grown to a point that many have extended it into a two day event. Yes, Black Friday has become ingrained into the fabric of our culture.
Black Friday has turned into the number one shopping day of the year. Shoppers fight (sometimes, literally) the crowds for that special Black Friday deal. The day is called Black Friday because it’s the day that hopefully will generate enough sales for retailers that they will be in the black (make a profit) for the year.
But there was another holiday this past week. Seemingly lost in the shuffle of food, football and finance was Thanksgiving. We all remember from school the story of the Pilgrims, the Native Americans and the first Thanksgiving. Over time, Thanksgiving became a time set aside in the Fall to give thanks for the year’s harvest. In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln signed a proclamation officially making Thanksgiving a national holiday to be celebrated the last Thursday in November. So Thanksgiving is a day set aside to be thankful. But thankful for what, and to whom are you to be thankful?
Twelve years ago, I had the privilege of going on a medical mission trip to Kenya with our church conference, headed by Dr. Larry Watts. Dr. Watts has been on several such trips to Africa providing medical help. I was a “gopher” during the trip, loading and unloading supplies, giving out medicine, and doing whatever I could to help the medical staff. During the trip we provided medical services in several locations, including a slum area in Nairobi and at two orphanages outside the city.
I had heard the reports and had seen the pictures on TV. But to see it in person is still a shock. In the slum, there were hundreds of thousands of adults and children living in throwed-together tin shacks. At the orphanages, we saw hundreds of children, many orphaned because their parents had died from AIDS. The conditions they lived in were difficult. But at least they had some food to eat and a place to sleep.
One night, toward the end of the trip, I was talking to another member of the mission team about the trip. I told him, “There’s one thing I’ve learned while being here. Compared to what I’ve seen, I don’t have any problems.” He nodded in agreement.
Did I have some problems at that time? Oh, yes. It had been a pretty difficult time leading up to the trip. But, compared to what most of those we had seen that day go through on a daily basis, my difficulties seemed small, and the blessings I had, much more obvious. I had much to be thankful for. And I do today.
There are a multitude of people in this world who will go to bed hungry tonight, and many unsure where that bed will be. I can safely assume that there is not anyone reading this column that will go to bed tonight hungry. (Unless you’re on a diet.) And I’m also pretty sure that you’ll have a place to sleep tonight when you do go to bed. That is a reason to be thankful.
While we should give thanks for the basics of life, there are still many facing very difficult times. It is difficult to be thankful when you have family strife, physical problems, financial setbacks, or the loss of a loved one. And many have been dealing with the devastation caused by Hurricane Florence.
So how do you give thanks in such difficult times? Maybe the key is knowing who you are giving thanks to. He is God. In the Hebrew language, He is also known as Jehovah-Jireh, God Our Provider; Jehovah-Rapha, God Our Healer; and Jehovah-Shalom, God Our Peace. Knowing that, giving thanks is not just being thankful for what God has done in the past, but also for His provision, help and comfort in the present and future. And that is better than any Black Friday deal.