Thanksgiving holiday is monumental in North America. Marked by religious expression of gratitude and eating traditional meal of Turkey, Thanksgiving Day commemorates a harvest festival that was initiated by ancient pilgrims. It is a big holiday held in high esteem.
Folks travel from near and far to join their families around dinner tables for drinks, sumptuous meals and fellowship. People take naps and watch football. Others go out for extravaganza. Families agree to disagree. At times they fight. At the end of the day, the spirit of family prevails.
Although most countries don’t celebrate Thanksgiving Holiday, we; the Kenyan people and the world at large have a lot to be thankful for. In fact, Thanksgiving shouldn’t be an annual event.
It should be a continuous and extemporaneous event that revolves around appreciating abundance of blessings in our lives and praying to God for our needs. Psalm 100 says we should ceaselessly enter in to God’s presence with thanksgiving and praise.
Yet, life is a mysterious journey. Even in the midst of thanksgiving, some among us are rich, filthy rich-living in opulence. Others are poor, filthy poor-living in want. From America to Kenya, disparity between the rich and the poor is shameful. In between is middle class, struggling to balance. Even as we merry, some people are whole and others are suffering from diseases and disabilities.
However, when all is said and done, the big question remains: What is life? Although money and wealth is an added advantage, it doesn’t guarantee holistic life and enjoyment. At the end of the day, it is undeniable that life is fragile, let’s take care of it. Life it is temporary, let’s celebrate it. Some people in this life can be hateful, but let’s love. Let’s share, not be selfish. Instead of being overcome by our ego, let’s do social justice to the downtrodden. In sum, let’s appreciate the gifts of family, faith and. friendship.
The wisdom in the biblical book of Ecclesiastes is profound. The author observed that life is vanity under the sun. We have one life to live. We will die once and leave the abundance of this world. Like flowers we bloom in the morning and we wither in the evening. We come, to go. We will be buried in the grave, the same way we came out of our mother’s womb-without anything.
That’s why we need to celebrate our life and embrace forgiveness of self and others before we expire. There will be sunrises and sunsets. But we can’t outlive life. Life will outlives us. By and large, just remember your God and be kind to people. Above all, be thankful for what you have and pray for what you need. Happy thanks giving everybody.
By Jacktone Ambuka. Twitter: @jackambuka.
