11/26/2009 7:00:00 AM Find something to be thankful for
By ANDY VANCE Agri Broadcasting Network
Writing a column the week of Thanksgiving, it seemed almost sacrilegious not to write about the holiday itself. Though more secular in nature today, the observance was traditionally a religious holiday, a day focused on giving thanks to the Creator for the manifold blessings bestowed upon man. While generally accepted to have first occurred at Plymouth as a gathering of the Pilgrims and the American Indians who helped them survive in their new land, the Thanksgiving story has largely grown into part of what one historian called "the American myth."
That phrase caught my attention: "the American myth." At first blush it sounds odd, and yet, it has meaning. Like the epic histories of ancient Greece or Rome, stories grow over time, and manifest themselves into the legends of the larger culture. Stories of Hercules or Achilles certainly have their historical basis in reality, but over time and with the embellishment of historical retelling, they grew larger than their origins. And so it is with the various vignettes of our own history.
In truth, who knows exactly what happened at the "first" Thanksgiving, who was on the guest list, or what food they served. We know this much: it probably wasn't the big family reunion style dinner replete with turkey, dressing and pumpkin pie that we know and love today.
What we do know to be certain, in our minds or in our hearts, is that we have much to be thankful for, and that taking the time to stop and remember those blessings is a necessary part of who we are as a people. Regardless of your opinions of the founding of this nation on the bedrock of Judeo-Christian values, one thing that is inarguable is the basic goodness of the American people, and the fundamental wholesomeness embodied in "the American myth." Our story, from founding to future, is worthy of the legends of the ancient world. Our heroes are as mighty, and the morals taught every bit as solid. Pausing to give thanks and remember is in the very fabric of our existence.
And yet, it's been a tough year. From those displaced from work because of the economy to the farmer yet to complete the harvest because of the weather, we've all faced our struggles. And yet, to a one, we can find something for which to be grateful.
In my case, it's easily the love of family for which I'm most grateful. Perhaps I'm more Hallmark on this fact than I should be, but I'm a lucky guy. I have a great family. As my buddies often remind me, I married above myself. Our parents are active in our lives, we both have great brothers involved in their family farms, and, by the way, I have the cutest nieces one could ever hope to find.
Likewise, I have a great "job." Only, it's not really a job, is it? It's only work if you don't love it, I suppose. We clock a lot of hours, and countless miles doing our daily toil, but in the end, I can't really imagine myself doing anything else.
We live on a beautiful farm, surrounded by the majesty given us by the Creator for our enjoyment. Every morning when the sun rises over the pasture and shines through the studio window, I'm reminded of the grace of God.
And yet, we all have our own challenges. Each day brings a fresh set of problems for us to solve, of forks in the road for which we have no roadmap. And that, by the way, is something to be thankful for as well. If everything were easy, we'd have nothing to sharpen us, to improve us, to drive us onward in a quest to be better than we are. Failure is not the opposite of success; failure is the offspring of complacency.
So find something, something to be thankful for. There is something for which you owe a debt of gratitude, some morsel of grace or good fortune that you quite likely may not have deserved. Such is the case in my life, and I venture such is true, too, for you. From the blanket of freedom under which we sleep to the relative wealth of our society, we have many blessings to celebrate this Thanksgiving.
While those first celebrants didn't watch the Cowboys play the Raiders and then pass out in a recliner into a tryptophan-induced coma, they had something in common with us. They, too, had more to be thankful for, more than even they realized, and in pausing to give thanks, they helped carve a chapter in the great American legend.
Andy Vance, a native of Hillsboro, owns and operates the Agri Broadcasting Network (ABN), Ohio's Voice for Agriculture.
