The holiday season is upon us and I am not ready! When Halloween came around, I got a scary jolt reminding me that 2025 was coming to a close. Where has this year gone?
With school now in session and vacations are long gone with pictures to remanence about, switching gears to Fall and the holiday season is not always easy.
I always thought that Thanksgiving was cleverly placed on the calendar at the end of November. Whether this was intentional or not, it’s a perfect way to be ushered into December, a month celebrating Christmas, Christ’s birthday.
With Thanksgiving having its own traditions there was one that captivated my attention, the pardoning of a Turkey. I suppose if I were a turkey I’d want to be that bird that takes a trip to the White House and gets pardoned by the President. Who wants to be roasted in the oven, deep fried, or whatever else people do to these fowls.
According to the information I found this quirky tradition starts back with Abraham Lincoln, in 1863, when his son Tad asked his father to spare a turkey. I’m assuming this turkey had been slated for the Thanksgiving meal but Mr. Lincoln took pity on his son and pardoned Jack, the turkey. As to what they had for their Thanksgiving dinner, I don’t know.
The White House historians report that the official turkey presentation didn’t begin until 1947. Then in 1989 President George H.W. Bush established the annual tradition of pardoning a turkey. In case you’re wondering what happens to the turkey after it gets pardoned, that lucky gobbler gets to live out its life on a farm.
The tradition of pardoning a turkey got me thinking about how I want to usher in the holidays starting with Thanksgiving. The word thanksgiving pretty much says it all but do I need to prep my heart as I enter Thanksgiving?
Many people have been recipients of being pardoned which is legally being forgiven for a crime and being restored of a person’s civil rights. This must be a deeply life-altering experience that provides a sense of profound relief, forgiveness, and the opportunity for a new beginning.
Ephesians 1:7 “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace.”
But what about the heart. Can the crimes of the heart be pardoned?
Thank goodness for a loving and forgiving God, because all I need to do is ask God for His mercy and He’ll relinquishes my resentment, bitterness, and anger. Legal pardons are conditional but divine pardons is God being gracious, merciful, and full of compassion.
I know the holiday season is difficult for many people for various reasons, but it doesn’t mean that you can’t have a prepared heart. Regardless if you celebrate Thanksgiving or Christmas, house cleaning of the heart, soul, and mind is always good for your health and wellbeing.
Before the rush of the holidays takes off, do an inventory of your heart and thoughts. Maybe start with a gratitude journal and write down things reflected on that you are thankful for. Refer back to this journal often and remind yourself of the good that has happened in your life. For me doing this replaces my resentment with forgiveness, bitterness for compassion, and anger with love.
Reading the scripture also cultivates a mindset of thankfulness preparing the heart for the holidays.
These are some of the things I do when I’m having a hard time with my thoughts and attitude. I don’t want to waste any time on thoughts that take away from the true meaning of this holiday season. I want to see smiles on people’s faces. I want to feel the joy that is shared amongst my family and friends. But most of all I want to have an attitude of peace and thankfulness as I celebrate the gift God grace humanity with, the birth of Christ.
May your heart be divinely pardoned where needed and I pray that your Thanksgiving is filled with warmth, love, and blessings.
“We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures.” – Thorton Wilder
Happy Thanksgiving.
Photo by Stephanie Klepacki on Unsplash
Gwen
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