“The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever-watchful providence of Almighty God.” In the midst of an incredibly difficult year, these words seem to hearken back to a better time in our nation’s history. These words were not written in a prosperous time, but rather in the midst of the most difficult crisis America has ever faced: the American Civil War. In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln wrote these words establishing the American tradition of Thanksgiving that lasts to this very day. Even compared with this year, 1863 didn’t seem like a year filled with blessings, especially for Abraham Lincoln. The two costliest battles of the American Civil War happened that year at Gettysburg and Chickamauga. The previous year Lincoln had lost his son, Willy, after losing another son several years prior. Perhaps in issuing the Thanksgiving proclamation, Lincoln was reminded of the Pilgrims who celebrated the famed first thanksgiving in 1621 after losing 51 of the initial 102 passengers on the Mayflower. Squanto, the Native American who joined the Pilgrims for the First Thanksgiving after famously helping them plant crops to survive their second winter, was the last surviving member of the Patuxet tribe which had been devastated by disease.
In the midst of this time of uncertainty, these stories show that there is always something to be thankful for. The Bible is filled with verses about gratitude and thankfulness. For example, 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 calls on Christians to “rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus." In the midst of COVID-19, the 2020 election, racial unrest, and other problems America and the world at large have faced, it is more important than before to be thankful to God for His blessings. The Bible says “do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:6-7). This year, regardless of how, when, or where you celebrate Thanksgiving, it is important to remember the roots of this celebration and give thanks to the Lord for his blessings. Although 2020 has been a difficult and trying year, it’s certainly not worse than 1863 or 1621. There is a lot to be thankful to the Lord for as we finish this year. I will leave with the words of President Lincoln, asking the nation to come together in prayer and thanksgiving:
“I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquility and Union.”
-Austin
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