Giving Thanks

Written by Jason Haines

“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” James 1:17 NIV

I would like to start this paper out to let everyone, and those that know me know this, that Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday out of the year. More than any other holiday I have always loved this holiday. One, but not the most important reason, is it has so many of my favorite foods. But the reason I love Thanksgiving so much is because it is the one time of year that family and friends come together to give thanks and to be together; I know my wife will appreciate this. Eating, and enjoying the company of my late grandfather and the rest of our family. Then things happened, and I am not sure it was just my family, our family parted, and the holidays weren’t the same. However, I was always trying to get our family back together and celebrate again, despite my mother’s disagreement.

Thanksgiving was first celebrated by the early settlers of the country, before our country was even formed, for one of their first harvests. These settlers came here to America to escape religious persecution, or to have a freedom to observe their religion from that of England. They were not here to conquer lands, or have slaves, but to live a life of freedom. Thanksgiving was born from these people but wasn’t just about just eating good food, but about giving thanks to all that God had provided. Abraham Lincoln designated this as a national holiday in 1863 to do just that, allow us to reflect and give thanks for the things we have. He did this despite the country going through a civil war and everyone being against each other. Sound familiar?

Today we have so many things to be thankful for, yet it seems as if we are thankful for nothing while not being as happy for anyone. Everyone is living in a world of hate and contention that just seems as if it won’t end. We have people fighting each other and not coming together to speak to one another and this may be all that it would take. Our world is inundated with so much information and it seems as if we are not knowledgeable about anything. People, normal people (if that’s a real thing today) want it to end but are not sure where to turn or who to trust because one wrong turn gets you doxed, or whatever retaliation may come their way for having a wrong thought. Why has it come to this?

In the past I always thought and was taught that my self-worth was based off the things that I had, and I am not alone because many I have met have this same thought process. But I wasn’t happy at all, the more I bought the farther in debt I got, the more unhappy I became because I struggled with the fear of how I was going to pay for it all. I would even buy things when in the back of my head I had two voices saying, “you do not need this,” and then after I bought it the other voice would say, “how you going to pay for that.” All I was thinking was I need this and not really realizing what I had was what I needed. I wasn’t thankful for what I had and the more I got the less happy I became. These days I now understand that God will provide us with what we need.

One day I was let go from a company where I felt worthless. I was constantly busy, constantly stressed, constantly working to buy things I couldn’t afford, while feeling worthless. The day they let me go something funny happened, I felt like a weight had lifted off my shoulders and so much tension had released from me. Things really began to change that day for the better. I am not saying I made a 100% change that day, but a light bulb went off that showed me what I really needed and not to constantly go after my wants. It was as if God was speaking to me and giving me a message, one of those slight messages, that was guiding me in the direction I needed to be going in. I am sorry to say that the day I was let go from that job I was thankful for what God had given me that day, because I needed that message.

God trusts us to do the right thing and that is one thing I work on daily because I was raised to not trust anyone. I think we are all trained to not trust anyone. But after I was released from the job, I started to see things much differently. Not sure if it was a position or what, I had learned things that changed my mind on how things worked, and it also allowed me to help others understand. Build trust and realize people want to do a good job. I wanted to let all those who worked for me and with me that I was thankful for them. Thankful for all they had done for me and helped with things when they didn’t have to. It also helped me realize that when we reach out and help others, they will usually return the favor. I am thankful that God helped me realize this.

Another reason I was thankful for the release from the job was because it allowed me to realize what was important in my life and that wasn’t material things. It was my family and friends who I needed more than anything. I had grown to be away from many in my family over the years because I was chasing after things, I believed I wanted but didn’t need. I would buy thinking it made me special and not learn that what I needed was literally right in front of me. I learned to slow down and find that being busy was not all it was cracked up to be. Matter of fact the devil wants us to be distracted because when we are distracted, we do not see the things that he is trying to do. Just look at what the world is doing today, and I believe many of us need to slow down, be less distracted, and be more thankful of what we have. Pay attention to the things we need and not what we want.

I am very thankful today and every day since that day I was released from that job. Many people would look at it as an embarrassment because they see their job as their identity, but I do not. I see it as God teaching me to go after the things I need. If I had stayed as my job and continued to believe it was my identity, I would not be able to realize how blessed I am to have a beautiful wife and two amazing kids. I would not be able to love them as best I can, to protect them the way I need to, and to be there for them when they need me to be. I think God has been trying to tell us something over the past couple years and that is that family is important, in fact the most important thing we need. I know this for a fact, and I am very thankful that God was able to open my eyes to see that my family’s needs would be provided to us.

This Thanksgiving please take a moment to think of the things that you are thankful for and enjoy your time with family and friends. Happy Thanksgiving!!

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