As you all know, yesterday was Thanksgiving, the day when we as a nation give thanks for all the many blessings our God has bestowed on us. When I was a kid, we used to go around the table before dinner naming one thing that we were thankful for. I think a lot of families probably did this and continue to do this now. But over the years, my family stopped this tradition. I think something similar has happened to me on a personal level at the same time. As I got older, I started thinking less and less about what I was thankful for and more and more about what was wrong with my life.
Over the last several weeks, I’ve seen how not focusing on my blessings has affected me. As I’ve mentioned previously, I’ve been feeling rather lonely lately and have been thinking a lot about how I don’t really feel close to anyone in my life right now. This thinking has caused me to feel a bit deprived of friendships, and when I feel deprived of anything it’s tough to be at peace. But instead of focusing on what may be wrong with my friendships, I should be giving thanks to God for the friends I do have. There are probably some people out there who have fewer friends than I do, maybe even some that have no friends at all. No matter how bad we think we have it, there are always people who are worse off than we are. Realizing this helps me to keep my problems in perspective, and helps me to choose to be happy with what I have rather than wanting what I don’t have.
After seeing how not focusing on my blessings has affected me, I resolved to start giving thanks to God for all the things that he has done for me. He’s given me a family and friends that love me, He has given me health, a place to live, and a job to support myself. Most importantly, He has given me the faith to see Him acting in my life. So while I have problems, just like everyone, I am truly blessed.
As the priest who celebrated the Mass I went to yesterday said, giving thanks to God is a central part of our Catholic faith. The word “Eucharist” means thanksgiving. Since we celebrate the Eucharist every day, we should also give thanks to our God every day for everything that He has done and continues to do for us. We don’t need to wait until the fourth Thursday of November to give thanks for our blessings.
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