It’s Hard to be Thankful in America

It’s hard to be thankful in America… because we have so much.  We are so fortunate with what we do have, we can easily take it for granted.  Most of us Americans live without need.  Covid gave everyone a scare.  What would we do without toilet paper?  Oh my!  Or food in the grocery store?  We all panicked thinking there might be a supply shortage of something we seem to not be able to live without.  

I am thinking of that first Thanksgiving and how the pilgrims did not know where their next meal was coming from.   They did not have a warm cozy house that regulated their heat.  They did not have the assurance they would make it through the winter.  They did not have medicine to help with their sickness.  They did not have a recliner to sit in and watch their favorite football team.  They didn’t even have an Instant-pot to help make that first Thanksgiving meal. 

But yet they were thankful for what they had.  They thanked and prayed to the Creator, who they knew would help them make it to the next day.  They were thankful because they now lived in a country where they had the freedom to worship. 

It is hard to be thankful in America… because we live in a very materialistic country.  We always want more.  Not being happy with what you have been blessed with.  I realized how much we Americans are bombarded with commercial ads each day to help us see all those things we are in want of.   I can’t even look up a recipe online without seeing 10 ads.  I realized after watching HGTV that I was now in need of an Air Fryer Toaster Oven.  “Where have you been all my life?”  With us Americans seeing at least 100 commercial ads a day, no wonder we want so much. 

It is hard to be thankful in America… because we want what everyone else has.  We compare ourselves to others.  We saturate ourselves with social media to remind us what we don’t have and how everyone else in the world does.  

It is hard to be thankful in America… because we have lost sight of our Creator.  Who or what are we thankful to?  Amazon?  Wal-mart?  Our local grocery store?  

It is only because of our Creator, our God in Heaven, and His given Son, that we live the next day.  He is in charge of the Heavens and the Earth. He gives us everything we need!!!

For that…  I am very thankful.

God’s Word-Psalm 107:21

“Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for mankind.”