Thanksgiving has come and gone, yet its meaning should linger in our hearts long after the last slice of pie is shared. As we step into the days beyond this treasured holiday, we have an opportunity—a responsibility—to carry its spirit forward.
Thanksgiving has always been about more than feasting. It’s a time to pause, reflect, and unite. From the first proclamation by George Washington to Abraham Lincoln’s call for unity during the Civil War, Thanksgiving was founded as a moment to turn our hearts toward God. It’s a day to acknowledge that, even in hardship, we are recipients of blessings too great to number.
George Washington’s words still resonate today, calling us to a national “day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God.” He understood the power of gratitude—not as an empty exercise, but as a balm for weary spirits and a compass for the future.
And Abraham Lincoln’s 1863 Thanksgiving proclamation, written during one of the most divided times in our history, reminds us that gratitude can be a bridge. He spoke of the “bounties which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come,” urging Americans to remember that even in a divided and grieving nation, there was hope.
Today, our challenges may not mirror the Civil War, but they are no less significant. We live in a time of great change and sometimes great division. And yet, the spirit of Thanksgiving calls us to unity—not uniformity, but a shared gratitude for the freedom to work together, to disagree, to dream, and to build.
Let us keep the heart of Thanksgiving alive in our prayers for our nation. Let us pray for wisdom in our leaders, for compassion in our hearts, and for the strength to pursue peace and justice. Let us also remember that the greatest changes often start in the smallest ways: in a word of kindness, in a helping hand, in a moment of quiet gratitude.
And as we reflect on the blessings we enjoy, let us lift our voices to the heavens in thanksgiving—not just for what has been, but for the possibilities yet to come.
Here is a poem to carry us forward in gratitude and prayer:
A Prayer of Thanksgiving
We bow our heads, our hearts aglow,
For blessings vast that overflow.
For amber fields and skies of blue,
For dreams renewed, and mercies new.
O God, who guides this land we love,
We lift our thanks to You above.
Through trials faced and battles won,
You’ve been our strength, our rising sun.
When voices clash and tempers fray,
Teach us to walk a kinder way.
To see not foes, but neighbors dear,
To sow with hope, and not with fear.
For freedoms fought, for truths held tight,
For courage found to do what’s right.
We thank You for this sacred trust:
A nation free, united, just.
Keep watch, O Lord, o’er sea and shore,
Bless those who serve and those who mourn.
May wisdom guide our leaders’ hands,
And peace take root in every land.
So as we move from feast to fast,
Let gratitude within us last.
With hearts of prayer and eyes that see,
May we become who we’re called to be.
May this season remind us not only of what we have, but of what we can be. Happy Thanksgiving, today and always.
