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Now that the election is over, it is time to plan for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Time to rake the leaves and to get ready for the winter season, and to put up the Christmas decorations. Both holidays are a season of celebration and gratitude. This year, despite a killer flood that took lives and destroyed homes and left many without power, water, and the other necessities of life, we have seen an outpouring of love and compassion from people near and far. They have given of their time, resources, and most of all of themselves to those in need. And, they’re still doing it.

Hurricane Helene was no respecter of persons. She destroyed and damaged churches as well as businesses.

Both Thanksgiving and Christmas of 2024 are a season of Thanksgiving – a time to show our thanks for family and friends, near and far. The two holidays are universal. Almost every cultural society has some sort of harvest feast. You can go to many different countries and it is celebrated in lots of different, distinct ways. Anciently there were feasts of the harvest and Jesus even participated in feasts of the harvest. 

Thanksgiving represents gratitude. It is one of those fundamental virtues that opens up a lot of other virtues for us. It’s kind of a prelude to many other good things that we can learn to be more thankful and have gratitude in our hearts. The destruction of Helene will be with us for a long time. It has opened our hearts to thanksgiving and filled us with gratitude and compassion for those who have lost family, and even their homes and worldly goods to raging water. We are thankful for the givers. Many have given of their time to clean debris and clear roads, to provide meals, clothing, shelter, and other essentials. Many are still at the mercy of friends and neighbors. So many have stepped up to help.

Helene was a storm that affected us all, and has caused so many to open their hearts to give, to feel, and to love our hurting brothers and sisters.

Sometimes we need a storm in our life to make us see the hurting, those in need, and that we have been blessed above and beyond measure. Storms help us to see the need to share our blessings with others. It may sound a little trite but it’s true when we sing, “When you are discouraged thinking all is lost…count your many blessings”… and as we focus on our blessings we get outside of ourselves. We see the people who live around us with a different perspective.

Gratitude leads us to service and to feel more love. As we focus on how we’ve been blessed, our hearts reach out in love to others and to help them in their needs.

Thanksgiving and Christmas should be different for all of us this year. The Scriptures tell us in I Thessalonians, “In everything give thanks.” This holiday season, which is upon us, we give thanks even in our circumstances, even if we’re having trials because we are blessed so much. So, it’s a way of living in the world, and it doesn’t just occur on Thanksgiving..

The challenge is to prepare our hearts for Thanksgiving…there are three weeks to Thanksgiving and then another month until Christmas. Before we decorate our homes for the holidays, let us truly prepare our hearts for Thanksgiving.