As the holiday season encroaches, our minds can get cluttered with so many thoughts.

“What am I going to wear?” “What am I going to get so and so for Christmas?” “What family members are we visiting for Thanksgiving this year?” “Can I eat so much food in one sitting??” These questions and many more fill our minds and take them over for the final 2 months of the year.

But in reality, the thoughts we should be having aren’t the ones listed above. We should start thinking, “What do I have to be thankful for this year?” “What did I accomplish in one year?” “What changed me this year and made me stronger?” “Who do I have to thank for impacting my life?” These and many more thoughts should be what goes through our minds during this hectic season.

We have so much to be thankful for. We have our health, our families, our friends, our life, and so many other aspects of our life to be grateful for. We shouldn’t let the commercialization of these two holidays cloud our minds and thoughts. When you let your mind be free of these commercially driven thoughts, you get the thoughts that I stated above such as, “What do I have to be thankful for?”. We need to get back to the roots of these holidays. Thanksgiving isn’t just about how much food you can eat in one sitting, football, or prepping for Black Friday. Thanksgiving is one of the few times in the year that you gather with friends and family around a table, catch up, eat some good food, and remember all the wonderful things that you have to be thankful for. You have so much to be thankful for, so many, that you may not know what they are until they are right in front of you.

Moving onto Christmas. Christmas isn’t about the presents under the tree, hanging lights in your windows and on your house, Christmas carols, stockings and the snow. It’s the opposite. It is about the birth of Jesus Christ, and celebrating his life and how he was born to save us. It is a time to be around family and friends. It shouldn’t matter how much you spend on a gift for someone, because that’s not what Christmas is about. It is also a time to be thankful for the year you had, whether you had more positives than negatives or the other way around, you can always find things to be thankful for. A verse from Matthew 1:21“She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”Christmas is about rejoicing the birth of our Savior, not rejoicing about presents. It is a time to be thankful and to celebrate life everlasting.

Remember, be thankful and give thanks for everything that you have been blessed with this holiday season.