Expressing Gratitude at Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving often brings to mind turkey, parades and football. The original intent of the holiday might go unobserved.  Luke 17:11-19 tells the story of ten lepers who sought a healing from Jesus.  After the ten were healed only one returned to express gratitude for the gift that he’d received. 

Ephesians 5:20 teaches us to always give thanks to God for everything.  At a recent Youth Ministry Thanksgiving food collection for Catholic Charities, several of our high school students heard a first hand-account of the struggles that local families face on a regular basis.  In addition to boxing up cans of vegetables and boxes of stuffing mix, they heard from Teresa Villanueva of Catholic Charities who shared stories of families who have to have to choose between maintaining housing to prevent homelessness and buying food to stave of hunger.  The students reflected on their own impending Thanksgiving celebrations and felt a sense of appreciation for food, family and friends.

We then played a game that forced us to reflect upon and conjure gratitude for the many of the gifts that we often take for granted.  The students were divided into groups asked to use one member’s cell phone for texting.  One at a time we typed one thing that we’re grateful for into a text and then passed the phone to the next player.  There could be no duplicates within the group.  Each player had to text something different.  At the end of the game we all had a long list of the things for which we were appreciative and could include in our prayers to God this Thanksgiving.