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By Renee Barker
This is the time of year where many of us reflect back on the past 11 months and give thanks for the past year’s blessings. My reason for gratefulness is perhaps the best thing that ever happened to me, right there with my wedding day took place this year. My husband and I had our first child – a little girl, who in my unbiased opinion is the sweetest, cutest person in the world. Our 2007 was made complete with this precious one whom we love so dearly. This Thanksgiving seems like the perfect time to tell God and others just how thankful we are for our little addition.
But there is another element to Thanksgiving that always seems to either be forgotten or takes the backseat whenever we sing the praises of why we are so blessed. And this is the lesson of sharing. Yes, sharing, giving, generosity, however you want to put it – this concept of Thanksgiving was a major part of the Pilgrims and Native American Indians first feast together in America. This festive event, although many argue the Thanksgiving story wasn’t as idyllic as we like to think, was a time of sharing with one another, no matter the circumstances or background. A time to give to others according to their needs and to bask in the delight of doing so. Our forefathers did this and in turn, probably expected their children to continue the tradition of generosity and in turn should trickle down to the future of our country – ah-hem – you and me.
Sharing. Of course, many of us, share. We give our dutiful 10% tithe to the church; we let our co-workers have that last piece of pecan pie that we’ve been dying to get our hands on since 8:40 am that morning; we even teach it to our young ones, stressing the fact that just because Johnny Tortini took the G.I Joe doll right out of our little ones hands, we need to share Captain Joe so everyone can get a piece of him. This concept of sharing fills each of our lives, in small ways, big ways…sometimes it’s easy, other times, it’s not.
The great evangelist, Billy Graham, once said, “We are not cisterns made for hoarding, we are channels made for sharing.” You may be thinking to yourself, “Hoard, I never hoard.” Well, maybe that is putting it strongly, but sometimes our sharing is purely contingent on what we allow ourselves to share, the easy things in life. Now is the time to step up and share something that is hard to give up or difficult for you to do. Just as Graham said that we are channels for sharing, I believe we all have our own method and calling in this sharing concept. For some, it may be sharing financially - financially supporting organizations or concepts you believe in. For others, sharing can be your time – giving up your Sunday afternoon nap to drive an elderly person to do their errands. And for others, it is a listening ear – instead of watching Grey’s Anatomy on Thursday night, you are listening to your best friend sob about the fact that her pet mouse was a delicious meal for the neighborhoods evil alley cat.
For everyone, it is different…we have all various interests and priorities in life. But now is the time to come together and not only thank God and others for the blessings you have received over the past year, but also to spread the love, share what is on your heart with those closest to you and even those that may you might not even know. Give a homeless person a hot meal on Thanksgiving Day, share your smile and a hug to a person who looks like they’ve had a rough day, write that check to the cause that you’ve been pouring over the past few months, This Thanksgiving, take another step, alongside thankfulness…give a little bit of yourself, share a little bit with others…walk in the footsteps of the Pilgrims and Native American Indians who shared their food with one another, and learn that sharing and giving of yourself is a part of thankfulness that will bless not only yourself and others, but also doesn’t disappear when the turkey’s gone.
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