To all who are celebrating thanksgiving in the USA… HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!! I remember spending a few thanksgiving celebrations in the US some time ago… mmmmm. Huge turkeys deep fried in peanut oil, cranberry sauce, cornbread, smothered greens, backyard barbecue with family and friends. I can almost taste the turkey in my mouth. yum!

We don’t celebrate Thanksgiving here in Pinas but I think we should set aside a day just to be thankful as a nation. More than the xbox 360‘s, the psp’s, the fully loaded iphones and all the tech gadgets galore… or the LV’s and the Hermes and the Gucci’s we’ve saved up for… there’s more to life than all that.

Thanksgiving in the US is one of their most awaited holidays. It’s a time when families get together at the dinner table… to remember… to be thankful… to acknowledge the Providence of the Almighty God.

Here’s an excerpt that says it best.

The First National Proclamation of Thanksgiving given by the Continental Congress       in 1777:

FOR AS MUCH as it is the indispensable Duty of all Men to adore the superintending Providence of Almighty God; to acknowledge with Gratitude their Obligation to him for Benefits received, and to implore such farther Blessings as they stand in Need of: And it having pleased him in his abundant Mercy, not only to continue to us the innumerable Bounties of his common Providence; but also to smile upon us in the Prosecution of a just and necessary War, for the Defense and Establishment of our unalienable Rights and Liberties; particularly in that he hath been pleased, in so great a Measure, to prosper the Means used for the Support of our Troops, and to crown our Arms with most signal success:

It is therefore recommended to the legislative or executive Powers of these UNITED STATES to set apart THURSDAY, the eighteenth Day of December next, for SOLEMN THANKSGIVING and PRAISE: That at one Time and with one Voice, the good People may express the grateful Feelings of their Hearts, and consecrate themselves to the Service of their Divine Benefactor;

and that, together with their sincere Acknowledgments and Offerings, they may join the penitent Confession of their manifold Sins, whereby they had forfeited every Favor; and their humble and earnest Supplication that it may please GOD through the Merits of JESUS CHRIST, mercifully to forgive and blot them out of Remembrance;

That it may please him graciously to afford his Blessing on the Governments of these States respectively, and prosper the public Council of the whole: To inspire our Commanders, both by Land and Sea, and all under them, with that Wisdom and Fortitude which may render them fit Instruments, under the Providence of Almighty GOD, to secure for these United States, the greatest of all human Blessings, INDEPENDENCE and PEACE: That it may please him, to prosper the Trade and Manufactures of the People, and the Labor of the Husbandman, that our Land may yield its Increase:

To take Schools and Seminaries of Education, so necessary for cultivating the Principles of true Liberty, Virtue and Piety, under his nurturing Hand; and to prosper the Means of Religion, for the promotion and enlargement of that Kingdom, which consisteth “in Righteousness, Peace and Joy in the Holy Ghost.

And it is further recommended, That servile Labor, and such Recreation, as, though at other Times innocent, may be unbecoming the Purpose of this Appointment, be omitted on so solemn an Occasion.

(souce: Wikipedia)

For us as a nation, we have a lot to be thankful for, in spite of all the overwhelming challenges that we continuously face. From the devastation caused by typhoons to the recent horrific events in Maguindanao… these may make it more difficult to be grateful. It may be harder to see the favor of the Divine Providence. But in the end… in the end…  we need to remember that what was meant for evil, God can always turn around for good. I was watching the news earlier and the candidate whose wife got killed in that incident said something about her being instrumental to the LIBERATION of his town… that DEMOCRACY, finally, has a chance, now that the alleged mastermind behind the massacre has been taken into custody. Perhaps he has seen a tiny seed to be thankful for in the midst of his tragedy.  I hope that all of us will see what he sees…even in the midst of difficulties.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!  May we always remember why.