Be Thankful for Gifts and Giver!

By: Dr. Synesio Lyra, Jr.

Every gift should be received with a grateful heart, especially toward the giver who remembered us with the gift. Sadly, gratitude is becoming a neglected practice among many who might despise the gift received, or think it was their right to receive a much better gift!

Thanksgiving should never be ignored by anyone, for any gift received, be it great or small; be it something desired, or something totally unexpected, or one for which we can’t see an immediate use. Even when we receive a gift we may not particularly care for, gratitude should not be absent!

For every human, God is ultimately the source of any good and perfect gift, and what He sends to His human creatures is something for their well-being. As I learned in my youth, and never forgot, “all things are needful that He sends; nothing is needful that He withholds.”

Indeed, the creator knows best what His human creatures require and He never fails to favor them with His unique benefits. In fact, humans are well-supplied by a gracious heavenly Father in all areas of life, even when many do not acknowledge that reality, and others prefer not to believe in a divine being Who truly cares and provides for them!

The act of thanksgiving should be a daily practice for every individual, for it is every day that human need is abundantly provided for by a watchful, loving creator.

As Americans we are favored with a special holiday each year, designated for us to pause and reflect on how blessed we are and have always been, regardless of difficulties and troublesome situations being confronted in our national life, besides in our individual experiences. Yet, our gaze should not be on what we may lack, but on what we possess in such great measure.

On this year’s Thanksgiving Day, let us again pause to thank our Divine Provider, as we also render our thanks to His human agents who operate from various corners of society, and via manifold functions they fulfill for the benefit of so many, positively affecting human lives day after day.

Instead of depending on the government, let us more fully manifest our dependence on Almighty God since what He offers is certain, and truly sufficient. To that end, let us always be grateful for what we already have, however small it might appear, so that greater gifts may be gradually granted to meet our every need of body, soul, and mind! Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!