What Is Thankfulness?

I got to thinking about the holiday that is upon us and I wondered if my son knew what the word "Thankfulness" really meant. So I asked him. All of his answers contained the word thanks, thankful, or some other derivitive or else expressed the things he was thankful for. As the, "Always seeking a teachable moment" home school mom, we set out to find the dictionary definition.

Aware and appreciative of a benefit (Dictionary.com)

I guess this year is a particularly hard year emotionally for me - (I say that every year around the holidays) but this year, I have the pleasure of working a 14 hour shift on Thanksgiving. I keep thinking to myself, "I sure don't harbor any feelings of thanksgiving this year." But - when I wipe away the dirty smudge of discontent that buries my thankfulness, I find I am overwhelmed with things to be thankful for.

It seems the most important one is that God has ingrained within the human race the ability (and duty) to be thankful in all circumstances. For this I am thankful. What would life be like if we never experienced the feeling of thankfulness.

Have a wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving!
Julie