McGUIRE AIR FORCE BASE, N.J. –
What do you get if you cross a turkey with an ostrich? A Thanksgiving bird that buries its head in the mashed potatoes.
Now, if you don't like that, cheer up because it gets worse.
What do you get if you cross a centipede with a turkey? Fewer fights over who gets a drumstick at Thanksgiving!
Are you thankful?
Someone once said, "If you can't be satisfied with what you have received, than be thankful for what you have escaped." Or, you may want to look at it like this... "Compare what you want with what you have and you'll be unhappy. Compare what you deserve with what you have and you'll be happy." Even though we've designated one day in the year as Thanksgiving Day, really, every day should be Thanksgiving Day.
One of my favorite stories is about Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936), a great British writer and unofficial poet laurete of England. He was the recipient of the 1907 Nobel Prize for literature, English short story writer, novelist and poet. He wrote such stories as "The Jungle Book" and "Gunga Din." It is said that one day as he was walking down the street, he was approached by a newspaper reporter. The reporter asked if he was Rudyard Kipling. He said, "I am."
The reporter said, "I've got a bone to pick with you." Mr. Kipling responded, "About what?"
The reporter then said, "I read that you make $100 dollars for every word you write."
Mr. Kipling said, "Well, man, I didn't know that. That's a lot of money for just one word."
When Mr. Kipling said that, the reporter reached into his pocket, caustically pulled out a $100 bill, handed it to Kipling and sneered, "Here, give me one of your hundred-dollar words."
Mr. Kipling looked at that $100 bill for a moment, put it in his pocket and said, "Thanks."
"Thanks" is a word we don't hear or say often enough. Husbands and wives don't say it enough to each other. Parents don't hear it enough from their kids. Kids don't hear it enough from parents. We probably don't extend our thanks enough to those we work with. Ingratitude makes a person sour and peevish. Even a dog will wag his tail when shown attention. I don't know of a word that warms and encourages a heart more than the word "thanks."
In North American history, the first known Thanksgiving Day was held in Newfoundland in 1578 by Martin Frobisher and the Frobisher Expedition to find the Northwest Passage. The first American Thanksgiving took place in Virginia on Dec. 4, 1619, by Capt. John Woodlief. The best-known Thanksgiving Day was held in Plymouth Colony in 1621 by the Pilgrims, in a feast that lasted three days. When President George Washington proclaimed Thanksgiving Day on Nov. 26, 1789, it was already an established custom.
Thanksgiving Day is one of the oldest and most-truly American of our national holidays. It is unique because it has probably changed less in its intention and manner of celebration than any other holiday. Thanksgiving is still very much what the Pilgrims made it, a time of giving thanks to God. Thanksgiving Day is a national holiday.
But, again, Thanksgiving Day truly is every day. Every day ought to be filled with thanks. We ought to be so grounded in the attitude of gratitude. Thankful for what others have done for us. Thankful for the blessings of life. Thankful to God for life itself. And on and on. This is why Psalm 136:1 says, "O give thanks unto the Lord, for He is good," and Psalm 50:14 says, "Offer unto God thanksgiving." The New Testament puts it this way, "In everything (in every situation) give thanks."
In the old English, the word "thankfulness" suggests "thinkfulness." And the more we "think" about it, the more we realize all we have to be thankful for. It is fitting that with bowed heads and reverent hearts we should thank the Lord for the food that he supplies. But, of course, the food that he supplies is simply symbolic of all of the things that God provides us.
This Thanksgiving Day, as we sit down to turkey and dressing, rolls, gravy, pumpkin or pecan pie, let's take time to put our hands together and express our thanks to God. As a matter of fact, let's do this every day. As George Herbert prayed, "Our Father, thou hast given us so much. Do please give us one more thing -- a grateful heart." Every day.