The fall semester is winding down. For us Tennesseans, those atrocious heat waves die down and eventually end. The leaves are falling, and everything changes color, even the sky is tinted differently than before. The world just seems right.
And, of course, there's Thanksgiving, the mother of all feasts. Although, the food isn't what makes it so special to me. Thanksgiving truly is, for me, what it was originally intended to be. When our forefathers established the holiday that we know and love, they were setting aside a day to reflect on the positive and simply be thankful.
Thanksgiving is a personal time for me. It's when I do a little soul searching, when I come to terms with all that God has blessed me with, and when I realize how undeserving I am to be blessed at all. This may sound depressing, but if your really consider what we're celebrating, it's one of the most uplifting thoughts that will ever cross your mind.
God has blessed me with a wonderful family. I have two parents who love me unconditionally, who have always had my back and have never abandoned me.
I have two brothers who, regardless of how much I complain about them or fight with them, share with me a bond that won't ever go away.
That's not even counting my four wonderful grandparents, my aunts and uncles, and, of course, a whole truckload of cousins. So many people I love, people I am thankful for.
Outside of kin, I've got my friends as well. This includes my classmates and church family. Some of them are fairly new, others have been with me since we were little, and still yet, there are many I won't meet until later in my life. But no matter how long I've known them, God saw fit to make them a part of my life, and for that, I am thankful.
Even further, I give thanks for the material things as well: clothes, food, a roof over my head, a car that runs, and all the other things I constantly take for granted. All blessings, all undeserved, all God.
I know, to most people, Thanksgiving just means food, the Macy's parade, and Black Friday. It's a celebration that should be enjoyable, but it's much more than that. It always has been.
So this year, try something different. Give thanks.
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