Thanks

It's Thanksgiving weekend here in Canada.  We celebrate this holiday a month and a half earlier than our American friends, probably because we need to be done our harvesting earlier than they do.  Certainly the farmers around Medicine Hat have gotten their crops in.  Other than carrots to dig, our garden has given up it's abundance for this year.  The frost and even snow that we've had has made sure that the growing season has come to an end.  So we give thanks this weekend for the blessings the land has provided this summer.

But Thanksgiving is a time to be thankful for more than just the produce of the land.  It is a time to reflect on the all the good things we have and we are certainly a people who have truly been blessed with great abundance.  Compared to most of the world our society has material wealth and possessions that the majority of earth's inhabitants can only dream of.  But we need to be thankful for more than just our bank accounts and stuff.  There are the things we cannot buy: family, friends, health, peace, freedom and life itself.

There is something very powerful about taking time to reflect on what a person has as opposed to what we don't have.  To give thanks for the blessings that are ours today.  It helps us to live in the present; to be more content with our lives knowing what we really have.  

I know from personal experience that when my life and circumstances have been difficult, reflecting on what I have that is good has been very beneficial.  Even more so when I have specifically been thankful for those blessings. The Bible tells us "... give thanks in all circumstances ..." (1Th 5:18).  It doesn't tell to give thanks for the circumstances we find ourselves in, but to look for the good in the circumstances.  Even in difficult times there are almost always some bright spots or some valuable lessons we are able to learn.  Some of our greatest personal growth takes place in our toughest times.  We need to be thankful for that.

Thanksgiving is not just about the turkey and fixin's.  It's about reflecting on what we have been blessed with, material and more importantly non material. 

Something that we are very thankful for at Powers & Jans Centre are the loyal patients who have entrusted us with providing chiropractic care to them and their families.  We know what a great blessing it is to be able to serve the needs of others.  Thanks!