Thanksgiving Perspective:
NOT A Crisis

There has been a concerted effort on the part of many in our American society to shift the focus from thanksgiving toward discontent. Since last week, nearly the entire focus of the mainstream/drive-by media on all the lead stories is: how bad the travel system is going. "You're going to be late to Thanksgiving dinner this year!!!" is the theme.

I won't even go into the fact that the media is never happy. Either travel is down (because of terrorism and fear of travel, 2002 and beyond), causing economic hardship for the travel industry, and this is a bad thing. Or travel is up (because more folks now feel safe, & have the time and means to afford travel), causing delays and headaches, and this is a bad thing. Which way do you want it, media?

But I digress. Holiday delays in travel are nothing new, and the delays are very easy to solve. Either plan ahead, or expect delays. Appropriately setting one's expectations is a noble priority, and to expect to show up 1 hour before a flight and experience no difficulties finding a parking space, going through security, and waiting in line is ridiculous. The end result of this hysteria is a focus on our problems, both individually and collectively.

Thanksgiving is not just a day it's an attitude.

Consider the luxury of having the ability to focus on our problems. In order to do so, we have to have things going well in other areas of our lives in order to have the time to sulk. People in other parts of the world don't worry about a flight delay because they have neither the time nor the means to worry (they aren't flying. This is a problem that we have been able to, literally, afford.

Rather than gripe about lines at the train station, how about if we think about Thanksgiving and the things for which we ought to be thankful.

Thanksgiving is not just a day it's an attitude. It is easy for one to think of the big things for which to be thankful, but when one considers the things that lie underneath the mental surface, it truly alters one's position in the world. Consider the following:

We live in a country where:

• Indoor plumbing is the norm. (Dominican Republic?)
• Gas is delivered to our house to provide heat. (North Korea?)
• When we arrive at the grocery store, there is always food. (Ethiopia?)
• One has to try to not receive an education. (Pakistan?)
• Men and women volunteer to protect and defend us. (North Korea?)
• We have the ability to debate incandescent light bulbs vs. CFLs. (North Korea?)
• First-rate health care is available for our pets. (Mexico?)
• And speaking of health care, when one needs emergency care, it is never refused. (France?)
• Many of our nation's poor have air conditioning, access to transportation, and cable television. (Russia?)
• We can go to church or Bible study and not worry about who's watching. (China?)
• We can purchase a Bible or other Christian literature without fear. (Middle East?)

Women have rights. (Did you hear about the woman in Saudi Arabia sentenced to 6 months in prison for being raped by a dozen men?)

I could go on and on, but you see my point: the LORD has blessed us abundantly, and recognizing this fact places ourselves in proper perspective. The gripes of the media become silly when we are truly thankful. The long lines at an airport become less apocalyptically worrisome when we consider our good fortune.

Take time to thank the LORD this season (and beyond) for all of your many blessings.

11/21/2007