Thanksgiving is a beautiful holiday for friends and family to gather and celebrate being thankful for each other, but once it’s over, we go straight into Christmas mode. It’s such a dramatic change in holidays, because we go from discussing what we are thankful for to constantly shopping and wanting more. The question we ask on Thanksgiving is “What are you thankful for?” but as soon as that is over, we ask “What do you want for Christmas?”. It is not a bad thing to want something for Christmas, but it is so important to remember how thankful we are for everything that we have, even after the holiday.

After reflecting on the holiday yesterday, I can say that despite everything that I have gone through this past year, I remain thankful. I am thankful for the scars and the pain because it ultimately made me stronger and brought me closer to Jesus. It gave me something to advocate for. By being so public and open about what happened, I have been able to be there for others who have gone through the same thing in hopes that I make them feel just a little less alone.

Yesterday I realized something that made me feel a bit ashamed. We obviously talk and think about what we are grateful for on Thanksgiving because that is is what the holiday is about, but how often do we thank God for the little things that he gives us each day? I don’t even think about the fact that every morning I wake up, it’s because God gave me another day of life. I don’t think about the fact that I get the privelege of taking a warm shower every day or that I have warm food to eat or a cozy winter jacket to keep me from getting cold. There are so many little things that we should be thankful for, but because we are so caught up in our own lives, we don’t realize that some people don’t have the same priveleges that we do.

Having been to Haiti multiple times before and seeing how thankful they are for the little bit that they have should make me even more apt to thank God every day that I wake up, but I don’t and that needs to change. My challenge to you is to go into this holiday season and practice thanking God and someone that you love for something they have done or given you. Maybe everyday a day to be thankful instead of just once a year.