THE Thanksgiving tradition of coming together as one family, praying together while holding hands in a circle of faith before enjoying a sumptuous holiday dinner can be a sad and difficult time for many people, who feel there is not much to be thankful for.
Understandably so, especially for those who lost a loved one, their home or their job. When tears well up in your eyes, everything seems to get washed out.
Despair overcomes and Thanksgiving Day only exacerbates the feeling of emptiness.
We all had our own share of disappointments in life. But there are people who have truly inspired me — those whose crosses were heavier than mine, yet their faith and sense of gratitude sustained and strengthened them through extremely difficult times.
Let me share with you some of my favorite quotes/readings, which I revisit whenever I need to to find something to be thankful for, even when it feels so hard to do:
“The very quality of your life, whether you love it or hate it, is based upon how thankful you are toward God. It is one’s attitude that determines whether life unfolds into a place of blessedness or wretchedness. Indeed, looking at the same rose bush, some people complain that the roses have thorns while others rejoice that some thorns come with roses. It all depends on your perspective. It does not matter what your circumstances are; the instant you begin to thank God, even though your situation has not changed, you begin to change. The key that unlocks the gates of heaven is a thankful heart. Entrance into the courts of God comes as you simply begin to praise the Lord.” — Francis Frangipane
“Be thankful for what you have. Your life, no matter how bad you think it is, is someone else’s fairy tale.” – Wale Ayeni
“Be thankful for what you have; you’ll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you will never, ever have enough.” — Oprah Winfrey
“I do not think of all the misery, but of the glory that remains. Go outside into the fields, nature and the sun, go out and seek happiness in yourself and in God. Think of the beauty that again and again discharges itself within and without you and be happy.” – Anne Frank
“To give thanks in solitude is enough. Thanksgiving has wings and goes where it must go. Your prayer knows much more about it than you do.” – Victor Hugo
“Pride slays thanksgiving, but a humble mind is the soil out of which thanks naturally grow. A proud man is seldom a grateful man, for he never thinks he gets as much as he deserves.” – Henry Ward Beecher
“For what I have received may the Lord make me truly thankful. And more truly for what I have not received.” -Storm Jameson
“As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.” – John F. Kennedy
“Let us remember that, as much has been given us, much will be expected from us, and that true homage comes from the heart as well as from the lips, and shows itself in deeds.” – Theodore Roosevelt
“It is literally true, as the thankless say, that they have nothing to be thankful for. He who sits by the fire, thankless for the fire, is just as if he had no fire. Nothing is possessed save in appreciation, of which thankfulness is the indispensable ingredient. But a thankful heart hath a continual feast.” – W.J. Cameron
“If a fellow isn’t thankful for what he’s got, he isn’t likely to be thankful for what he’s going to get.” – Frank A. Clark
“A thankful heart is not only the greatest virtue, but the parent of all the other virtues.” – Cicero
“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow.” – Melody Beattie
“For each new morning with its light,
For rest and shelter of the night,
For health and food, for love and friends,
For everything Thy goodness sends.
For flowers that bloom about our feet;
For tender grass, so fresh, so sweet;
For song of bird, and hum of bee;
For all things fair we hear or see,
Father in heaven, we thank Thee!”
– Ralph Waldo Emerson
“If the only prayer you said in your whole life was ‘thank you’, that would suffice.” – Meister Eckhart
Have a happy and meaningful Thanksgiving Day!
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Gel Santos Relos is the anchor of TFC’s “Balitang America.” Views and opinions expressed by the author in this column are are solely those of the author and not of Asian Journal and ABS-CBN-TFC. For comments, go to www.TheFil-AmPerspective.com, https://www.facebook.com/Gel.Santos.Relos
