At this time of year, we are encouraged to think about family, giving, and being thankful. Commercials on TV are filled with images of loving families happily enjoying their Thanksgiving Day meal. Charities solicit for donations more vigorously because this is the “season of giving”. Consequently, it might seem that people are a little kinder and more generous during this season than at other times of the year. It’s been said that the holiday season brings out the best in people. Perhaps. It’s hard to say. But for most of us, we try to be giving and thankful all year-round. Of course, this season may provide extra opportunities for families to be together, but our families are never far from our thoughts anyway. Aren’t we always looking for chances to share of our pluralities? Don’t we love to bless people? Aren’t we forever thankful? Isn’t giving a way of life for us? We know that this kind of behavior is not limited to being Christian, but as Christians, we embrace this lifestyle.
However, it seems that sometimes, people might need this season to remind themselves to give and be thankful. I guess this happens because life is so busy all the time. It’s easy to forget the important things of life when the falderal keeps rolling in. Sometimes I think that a million little things can be just as hard to deal with as one big thing. But whatever is going on, it is no secret that life places many demands on us, and that those demands can be overwhelming at times. BUT, those demands do not need to rob of us the things that are truly important in life. This is where remembrance comes in.
My friend, Merriam Webster defines remembrance as:
1: the state of bearing in mind
2a: the ability to remember: MEMORY
b: the period over which one’s memory extends
3: an act of recalling to mind
4: a memory of a person, thing, or event
5: something that serves to keep in or bring to mind: REMINDER
From these definitions we see that remembrance is more than just remembering. For example, we must remember what time our doctor’s appointment is, but when it’s over, we no longer need to remember that. But what about being kind? We can’t be kind once and then forget about it. We need to put it in remembrance and keep recalling it in our minds.
There are things in our remembrance that we don’t even realize we are remembering. We just do them. Do you put on clothes every day? Do you struggle to remember to do that? Oh, I certainly struggle with what to wear, but so far in my life, I have never left the house naked because I forgot to get dressed! We simply put our clothes on. It’s something that we have the ability to readily remember. It is a habit. Our habits can be so deeply ingrained in our memory that they take place without conscious thought. We can make something like thankfulness so much a part of us that it just happens. Unfortunately, this can also apply to bad habits, but the good news for those is that habits can be changed.
Habits are often learned. For instance, my mom taught me to brush my teeth. She taught me how to hold my toothbrush, how to put the toothpaste on it, how to brush up and down and side to side, and how to spit out the resultant foam. She reminded me every day to brush my teeth until it became my habit. But habits can be changed. I was in the habit of brushing my teeth, then the dentist said that I needed to floss, so my habit changed to include that. Then as a teenager, fresh breath became my priority, so I added mouthwash to my routine. And this is the routine that I still follow. But unlike getting dressed, I do need to think about it sometimes. If I am particularly rushed in the morning, I might get distracted and forget to brush my teeth. Talk about leaving a bad impression! It’s not something that I want to forget too often!
My examples may seem silly because getting dressed and brushing our teeth are so commonplace in our lives. But what about giving, or being thankful, or walking in love? Do we do these things with the same effortless regularity? Is doing them as easy for us as getting dressed in the morning? Are they habits? I think most of us put forth our best effort to do these things, but there can be times that we forget, or become distracted or complacent.
Not to worry! Even if we forget to be thankful at some point, we can change that by being thankful again. And if we forget again, we change it again, and if we forget again, we change it again. And each time that happens, it builds the habit a little stronger. Forgetting doesn’t mean that we have failed. If I forget one morning to brush my teeth, I haven’t ruined my teeth forever. I just fix the situation when I remember. This works for any attitude that we want to include in our code of conduct.
The important things in life can’t be seen with our eyes, but the effects can be registered. Being thankful is gratifying. Giving is joyous. Walking in love makes everything better! Plus, we know when we are behaving in this manner, we are pleasing to God. And as my dad used to say, “that is worth the price of admission.” The is nothing better in life than being pleasing to our Heavenly Father! Doing His Will sets the stage for multitudes of blessings and rewards that we can’t even fathom. We may bless others in ways that we may never know about. And we will receive the rewards that God has in store for us. Reminding ourselves repeatedly of these things will help us walk the way we really want to walk – as Christ did.
Being thankful, kind, giving, and loving are all attitudes that we can develop into habits by keeping them in remembrance. Reminding and re-reminding ourselves of the truly important things in life will help these attitudes be our first response to any situation and the hallmark of our lifestyle. (And a little sidelight – we know that one kind of giving is thanksgiving, but did you ever think that another kind of giving is forgiving. Just some food for thought.)
Even though we endeavor to act in a giving, loving and thankful manner all the time, why not take advantage of this “season of giving”? We can be especially good to those we love, especially kind those we know, and especially gentle to those we meet. Couldn’t hurt! If nothing else, it’s good practice!
Note to my readers: I hold you dearly in my remembrance. Thanks for reading.
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!