We are entering another holiday season which starts with Thanksgiving. I believe that is a great way to start our holidays as it is supposed to put us in a frame of mind to give thanks for all of our blessings.
I got to thinking about that first Thanksgiving and what that must have been like. I can only imagine how tough life must have been like back then; leaving your country for a new land just so you could have the freedom you desired. The courage, strength, and resourcefulness those pilgrims must have had is mind boggling to me.
That got me asking the question: “What has happened to those characteristic over the last 400 years?” Those pilgrims and the incredible people who followed in their footsteps helped create the greatest country in the world in a very short period of time.
Ask yourself the question: “Do we all still possess those same qualities?” “Do I possess them?” It seem to me that far too many Americans now expect someone else to provide for them, to guarantee them a good life, to make their life easy.
I read this somewhere recently and I think it says it best:
THE TOUGHEST MATH PROBLEM FOR MOST IS COUNTING THEIR BLESSINGS!
How about we start by being grateful for living in this great country? How about we start by adopting the words of John F. Kennedy: “ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.”
Think about how people from virtually all over the world risk life and limb just to get over here for a CHANCE at a better life.
Let’s enter this holiday season and start counting all of our blessings. Let’s find out how we can give back to our country and to others less fortunate. Let’s make a pledge to our family that we will take charge of creating a better life for them, fulfilling those dreams we have that we have grown to expect someone else to provide for us. Will it be easy? Probably not. If you need some motivation, read a few stories about what the Pilgrims had to endure and maybe that will inspire you to greatness in your own life and that of your family.
Marty Stone
