This morning, I pondered Thanksgiving from my dad’s vantage point in Heaven. I imagined Heaven as a place where Thanksgiving is celebrated every day and not just one day a year like here on earth. I can almost see it, Heaven filled with people from all nations, tongues, and tribes seated together in one huge banquet hall. There are no strangers among them, there’s no need for name tags because everyone knows each other by name. Heaven is bustling with activity full of laughter and joyful music as people are engaged in rich conversations. The table is ornately set and filled with family style servings of delicious foods we can only imagine.
I believe Heaven’s Thanksgiving celebration is centered upon one theme, a gratitude for the boundless love of God. “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believed in Him would not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16. Every one seated in this heavenly banquet hall have one thing in common, while they lived on earth, they trusted God loved them deeply in so doing they believed AND received the gift of God’s only Son.
So, as we celebrate this national holiday of Thanksgiving let us, with thankful hearts reflect upon the love of God. “Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, for His steadfast love endures forever!” Psalm 107-1-3
And if you are wondering about the journey of our nation’s Thanksgiving origin here are a few historical post marks along the way you can share with family and friends around your Thanksgiving Table:
- 1621 “First Thanksgiving”, although no one back then used that term. This gathering of giving thanks for a successful harvest took place at what is now Plymouth, Massachusetts. At least 90 Wampanoag native Indians and 52 English Pilgrims gathered around a table to give thanks.
- 1846 Sarah Josepha Hale began her campaign for Thanksgiving to become a national holiday.
- 1863 President Abraham Lincoln declared Thanksgiving a national holiday on the last Thursday in November. Some historians believe, President Lincoln’s motive for the national holiday likely wasn’t thinking about pilgrims and Native Americans but more about unifying a divided country following the Civil War.
- 1978 Henry Smith composed the song “Give Thanks” at his apartment in Williamsburg, Virginia. “Give Thanks” went viral long before social media was a thing. It is sung around the world in multiple languages. Smith wrote this song during a time of unemployment, financial insecurity, and an uncertain future due to a degenerative visual impairment that would eventually lead to his becoming legally blind. No doubt he found strength in Paul’s words, “That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Cor 12:10, NIV).
So, my challenge for you on your journey is to find a seat at a someone’s Thanksgiving table, celebrate thanksgiving not just today, but every day and more importantly, you find a seat at Heaven’s Thanksgiving table. I’ve got my seat in heaven already reserved, it’s next to dad.
Happy Thanksgiving! Joyfully on the Journey,
Beverly Pop
