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"Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song." ~ Psalm 95:1-2
Thanksgiving - noun, is defined by DICTIONARY.COM as
[ thanks-giv-ing ]
- the act of giving thanks; grateful acknowledgment of benefits or favors, especially to God.
- an expression of thanks, especially to God.
- a public celebration in acknowledgment of divine favor or kindness.
- a day set apart for giving thanks to God
There's not a day that goes by that I'm not floored by the extraordinarily high caliber of people who are in my life. I thank God, daily, for these precious gifts of family and friends. Yet, we live in a society in which spontaneous gestures of affection and gratitude can be seen as creepy and off-putting.
When Sarah Josepha Hale pestered President Lincoln to declare a national day of Thanksgiving, she was trying to unite a broken nation via a common honoring of the harvest. Yet, it can also be a superb opportunity to thank the people in our lives for the roles they play. I actually find it baffling that Hallmark hasn't turned it into a mega card holiday by now.