By Doug Creamer

I am not a very big fan of Halloween and am glad when the decorations people put out have been taken down for another year. When I went out to pick up dinner on the first Friday of November, I noticed that some people were putting up their Christmas trees. I couldn’t believe it. I knew stores were going to push Christmas but I thought people would hold off until around Thanksgiving.

When I was a small child, Santa set up our Christmas tree on Christmas Eve. As I grew older, we started setting the tree up about a week before Christmas. I typically decorate the outside of our house during the Thanksgiving break and still hold off on the inside until the first week of December.

This push that marketing gives us often causes us to glaze over a very important holiday, Thanksgiving. It’s not important because we get to enjoy some great food, although I do enjoy the traditional treats on the table. It’s important because it’s a time to reflect on the many blessings in our lives. Life can sometimes get crazy and distracting. We have to consciously stop and reflect on the good things in our lives.

Thanksgiving, if we would give it the space in our lives that it deserves, is a great opportunity to help us refocus on all the good things in our lives. I enjoy walking on a regular basis. Sometimes when I leave the house I feel like a gray cloud is hanging over me. If I will turn my heart towards thanking the Lord for His many blessings in my life, then by the time I get home the gray cloud has vanished. Thanksgiving changes our thought patterns and improves our outlook and mood.

If you feel that there is little in your life that gives you a thankful heart then let me help you consider a few basic things. Consider your health. Maybe it’s not perfect, but there are many things in your body that are probably working very well. I hope you can still walk, use your hands, think, talk and enjoy a tasty good Thanksgiving meal. All of us have probably had some health issues this year, but if we are in pretty good health then we have a reason for giving thanks.

Have you considered your family and friends? We are blessed to have good siblings on both sides of our family. We enjoy spending time with our many nieces and nephews. Many of them have started families and made me into a great uncle. I consider myself lucky to have some great friends. My friends have stood beside me through my trials and I have been there for theirs. I am so blessed to have some great friends.

Have you ever walked through your home and considered the many ways God has blessed you? He has provided for all your needs. We can all look and see things that need replacing, but if we stop and think about it, God has truly blessed us. There are so many people around the world in such desperate need and we have been given so much.

I thank God that I am living in America. I thank God that I am not living in Russia, Ukraine, Israel or Palestine. I don’t have to worry about bombs dropping on my house or the military destroying my peace and safety. Most of us live in neighborhoods that are safe and we have good neighbors. I am thankful for mine.

I am thankful for my church family. We are a close-knit group. We are there to celebrate each other’s victories and to console each other when we experience losses. We are there to pick each other up and to help each other through the trials and challenges of life. I smile every time I think of my church family and how blessed we are to have each other.

I find myself at the end of my column and there is so much more I want to share with you. I am considering a part two for next week. In the meantime, I want to encourage you to spend some time this week reflecting on the many blessings of God in your life. I have only touched on a few today. We have a God in heaven who loves us, watches over us, cares for us, meets our needs and has blessed us in more ways than we can count. Take some time to give Him thanks. I promise it will change your perspective on your situation and your life. Happy Thanksgiving!

Contact Doug Creamer at PO Box 777, Faith, NC 28041 or doug@dougcreamer.com.