We acknowledge our dependence

I know this is a little late, but I wanted to blog about Thanksgiving nonetheless.


I read a quote in October about Thanksgiving by William Jennings Bryan (I have yet to Google him; I have no idea who he is or what he did) he said On Thanksgiving day, we acknowledge our dependence. Dependence is not a term that Americans take kindly to (dependence on foreign oil, dependence on foreign money, etc) we generally do not like to be dependent on anyone or anything. Dependence is like 4-letter word in the USA. We have gone to war several times to avoid that fate. So, when I read that, I was offended-until I thought more about the sacred meaning of dependence.


Thanksgiving is a day that we as a nation have set aside to acknowledge our blessings (and in some cases, our hardships) It is a time to rejoice and be grateful. An action word. Literally the act of giving thanks.


This Thanksgiving convinced me that Thanksgiving is my absolute favorite holiday (even more than Christmas. Blasphemy, I know). I did not do anything spectacular, just the normal family together time. I didn't eat anything different. This year, it just meant something different to me, and I realized a lot of stuff. I realized that I am grateful for my family. I realized the blessing I have to be employed, to have insurance and security. I am extremely grateful to know that my family can be together forever. I realized that even without my Grandma, Thanksgiving can be an enjoyable family activity. I realized that, like the hymn says, I need [the Lord] every hour I am absolutely dependent on the Lord and his goodness. Nothing I have or will ever hope to have in my life would be possible without the Lord.


The Pilgrims made seven times more graves than huts. No Americans have been more impoverished than these who, nevertheless, set aside a day of thanksgiving.
~H.U. Westermayer


I hope that I can follow the example of the Pilgrims and set aside time to give thanks for my blessings, and see the blessings in my hardships, too. I have so very much to be thankful for.