Confession: I love Christmas music more than the average person. Yes, my Spotify Christmas playlist is currently slightly less than 38 hours long and, no, it does not include all of the Christmas music I listen to every year. Yes, I start listening to Christmas music in the early fall. No, it is not disrespectful to the holidays that come before it. Honestly, it’s necessary to start early if I’m going to listen to my whole playlist. But despite what my Spotify algorithm and playlists say about me, Christmas is actually not my favorite holiday. It is Thanksgiving Day. (I have recently started a Thanksgiving music playlist also, but it is still under an hour so I have a long way to go with it.)

There is so much to love about Thanksgiving. The weather, the annual gathering of loved ones, the feast. Oh, the feast. I think we can all agree it is the best meal of the year! I’m also an enthusiastic parade watcher. I get excited when I get my first glimpse of Tom Turkey and even get a little emotional seeing Santa Claus bring up the rear ushering in the official start of the Christmas season. 

ANECDOTE: One of the reasons I love Thanksgiving is I hold to the idea that Christmas is not a day. It is an entire season. Thanksgiving marks Day One of that Season (specifically with the appearance of Santa in the parade.) Christmas Day marks the closing of that season. So, when I say that I love Thanksgiving. I am, in a way, saying that I love Christmas.

We speak often of the magic of Christmas, due in part to the emphasis of love and goodwill toward men. The magic of Christmas is really an attitude that we strive for rather than an ethereal feeling we receive. The magic of Christmas encourages us to maintain that attitude year round. As Ebenezer Scrooge declares at the climax of A Christmas Carol, “I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year.”

But there is a magic to Thanksgiving as well. There are no gifts to exchange on Thanksgiving because the day is meant to remind us to be grateful for the gifts we have already received. We set aside the day to simply be thankful. 

In my personal struggles with anxiety, an exercise that was of great help to me was practicing the art of gratefulness. My mentor, who suggested the practice to me said this on the matter, “We understand we should be thankful but rarely do we take the time to name those things. You can not be thankful and anxious at the same moment.” 

Turns out, this is true. You cannot be anxious while giving thanks. Our brain will not allow us to do both simultaneously. I started practicing gratitude by listing the obvious gifts in my life. My wife, my children, my very being alive. But then as I continued on, I found that my list lengthened as I included smaller things that normally went unnoticed. The fragrance of flowers, the freshness of cool, spring air, the taste of food. In moments of anxiety, I would use my five senses to identify things around me I could be thankful for. I would breathe a prayer of thanksgiving for those specific gifts and it would help alleviate some of the weight off of my chest. 

Colossians 3:15 says, “And let the peace of Christ, to which you were also called in one body, rule your hearts. And be thankful.” Do you see how thankfulness and peace go hand in hand? Expressing gratitude literally leads our hearts to be more at peace. 

There is such a lack of peace these days. We cannot control the state of international and civil conflicts around the world. We grieve when we hear of senseless violence. There is bickering and fighting and contention in every family’s dynamic. But fixing these things will not solve our problem. Peace is not created externally. It must begin internally and work its way outward. If we really want “peace on earth and goodwill toward all men” we must start with cultivating a heart and mind of peace within ourselves. And that kind of peace only comes from Jesus, the Prince of Peace. 

So how do we create a grateful heart? We start with counting our blessings. We continue with saying “thank you.”  We inch closer to peace by resting in the finished work of Christ. We extend peace by extending a loving embrace and friendly words to others. These small steps help propel our world towards big change. 

This holiday season, celebrate the good things of God. His blessings, His love, His faithfulness, His peace. God is good. And that is certainly something to be thankful for.

Psalm 107:8-9, “Let them give thanks to the Lord

for his faithful love

and his wondrous works for all humanity.

9 For he has satisfied the thirsty

and filled the hungry with good things.”