The day that kicks off the holiday season has once again come to a close. From here on out minds of all ages turn toward other delights. We venture to the celebration of Christmas, taking the holiday season as a way to rekindle our love of humanity. The rituals, festivities, and traditions of the season accentuates the meaning within them.
Thanksgiving provides us with a time to surround ourselves with those close to us; to celebrate all that we have in our lives. It allows us to sit in contemplation of life itself. It prepares us to enter into the holiday season with hearts and minds full of generosity, goodwill, and peace.
Thanksgiving paves the way for the winter seasons' celebration of Life and Light. It carves a path for the sharing of good fortune, the extending of a helpful hand, and the realization that life itself is a place in which we can take solace.
Thanksgiving affords us an opportunity to look at our childhood and remember the warmth that we felt being loved, if only by one person. An opportunity to see the delicacy of life, in those we have known for so many years, as we watch them grow old before our eyes.
Thanksgiving gives us the seat in which we can sit in reflection of our own lives; where we have been, where we are now, and where we might be going.
Thanksgiving takes us by the hand and promises to lead us into a world full of love; sending us forward yet always with us as we welcome the good news of our Savior and the goodness that lies within us, which lovingly spills out to others.
Thanksgiving fills out souls with the realization that we are all one. It gathers us together while allowing our individual selves to flourish among those we love as well as among those we do not know.
Thanksgiving brings about the laughter and stories, the sharing and caring, the spice of life that threads itself throughout the rest of the holiday season.
Thanksgiving allows each of us to turn to ourselves and reflect upon what it is we are really doing here. To reflect on the innocence of childhood, the complexities of adulthood, the mysteries of the after-life, and the wonderment of the gift of life.
As we all head away from Thanksgiving and into the holiday season take a breath as you journey, over the next few weeks, to fill your body and soul with the gift of life itself.
The promise of Christmas is honored by the sentiments of Thanksgiving and the essence of Life and Light is brought forth by its grace.
