Choosing a Joy-Filled Thanksgiving
Choosing a Joy-Filled Thanksgiving
If we could choose between having a joy-filled Thanksgiving or a miserable one, of course all of us would choose a joy-filled holiday, right?
It might surprise you to realize that many of us will actually choose to be miserable this Thanksgiving, simply because we didn’t realize the choice was ours.
Having a joy-filled Thanksgiving has less to do with the cards we’re dealt, and more to do with the choices we make. Here are five things each of us can choose to do, this holiday, to make this Thanksgiving is full of joy for us and for those who gather with us…
1. Reminisce about the goods, not the bads
There’s something about this time of year that lends to reminiscing — about the last twelve months, or about holiday seasons past. Reminiscing can be a great thing, but it can also be less than great, if we tend to focus on the bad memories, not the good ones.
Everybody’s had some hard and heavy in the past twelve months — certainly in the span of our lifetimes. And most of us have moments in our past that we regret…
Thanksgiving is not the day to reminisce about those things.
If we’re going to think back, this holiday, let’s think back on the good moments. Bad memories might pop up in our minds, but we have permission to tell those memories to take a hike for the day. They weren’t invited to Thanksgiving dinner this year!
Let’s choose to guard our minds, this Thanksgiving, against those bad thoughts and memories that want to crash the party — for our own sake, and for the sakes of everyone else around us.
2. Focus on the positives, not the negatives
Likewise, we can choose to pay attention to what’s good about this Thanksgiving rather than what’s not.
Maybe you don’t like turkey; and as turkey is the traditional dish of Thanksgiving dinner, you’re not looking forward to the meal…
Shift your focus! Instead of focusing on the part of the meal you don’t like, focus on the parts you do like. What’s your favorite Thanksgiving side dish? Are you looking forward to the pie?
Maybe the weather’s not nice where you live this holiday season, and you were hoping for an outdoor dinner. All you can think about is the fact that you’re all going to be stuck inside the house together…
Shift your focus! Remember back in 2020, when many of us weren’t even allowed to gather together with our families or friends, because of the government mandates and restrictions related to COVID-19? Indoor or outdoor, at least people can be together again!
Maybe one of your kids wore the wrong color for your family’s Thanksgiving Day photo — the one you planned to send out as Christmas card this year.
Shift your focus! You’re together, and that’s what matters!
Even if the negatives seem to abound, let’s choose to focus on the positives, this year.
3. Focus on the right people
It’s natural to notice the people who aren’t with us. And it’s appropriate to acknowledge their absence, and the longing it creates. It may even be helpful to reminisce about some of the things you appreciate(d) the most about them.
But it’s just as important to make space for acknowledging something else: the people who are with you, and how glad you are to be able to spend Thanksgiving with them this year.
Instead of focusing heavily on who isn’t with us this year, whatever the reasons for their absence may be, let’s choose to focus on the people who are spending this Thanksgiving holiday with us, and let’s make much of them!
(If you’re spending Thanksgiving alone this year, you have a harder challenge than most of us. Unless you enjoy the solitude, it can be really easy to wallow in self-pity on a day like today. So here’s my challenge to you: if you feel a wave of “woe is me!” coming on, begin to recount the most meaningful interactions you’ve had with people this past year, and express gratitude for the people who made those interactions memorable. It may not fully lift that feeling of loneliness, but it might shift your focus and help you remember that what you’re feeling today is only temporary.)
4. Check comparison at the door
It’s human nature to compare. But on days like Thanksgiving Day, comparison can really kill the mood…
Thanksgiving Day is not a competition with friends, family, neighbors, or even past Thanksgivings. Thanksgiving is a day to enjoy one another, and to make much of God’s provision and the simple pleasures of life!
Instead of worrying about taking Insta-worthy photos of our families (or our food), let’s choose to simply be present and enjoy!
(Pro-tip: if you just can’t help but compare when you see a stark contrast between your Thanksgiving and someone else’s, stay off social media today.)
5. Say what you’re thankful for
This probably sounds cliché, and for some, it may be a family tradition that you all roll your eyes at, halfheartedly indulging whichever relative insists on keeping it alive each year…
But, though it doesn’t always have to take place in an organized fashion, the element of expressing gratitude is fundamental to joy-filled gatherings!
Genuine gratitude requires one to wholeheartedly consider the thing(s) for which they are grateful, which fills them with a sense of joy. And the expression of that gratitude spreads that sense of joy to the hearer(s).
Genuine, expressed gratitude literally changes the environment for everyone present. And the act of expressing gratitude can have a snowball effect, causing others to naturally consider (and potentially express) what they’re thankful for as well!
Want to set the tone for a thankful, joy-filled holiday? Keep your eyes peeled for anything and everything that is praiseworthy! And let’s choose to be genuinely generous with our “thank yous!”
Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus. - 1 Thessalonians 5:18 (NLT)
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