Each year we bring out the turkey, the stuffing, and those delicious mashed potatoes. Each year we bow our heads and give thanks. Undoubtedly, a family member or two will sneak a peak at the feast during the prayer. This is Thanksgiving for most of us.

What if this Thanksgiving we did something different? What if the sentiments of thanks we express actually resonate from deep within and turn our hearts to gratitude—all year long.

Often our grateful disposition is eaten up along with our leftovers. Why is that?

Why does it take a holiday for us to remember to be grateful? Shouldn’t gratitude be a mode of living, a lifestyle?

We celebrate Thanksgiving to remember the provision of the Lord from all those years ago to today. It’s incredible to recall the dependence the Pilgrims had on the Lord and their trust in Him.

Today, we have so much to be thankful for! America. Freedom. Family. And good food (hallelujah).

With all that God has provided for us, you would think we could have a harvest of love and thanks welling up in our heart. He has provided and still our thanks withers with even the slightest touch of winter’s cold wind. It shouldn’t be that way.

Maybe this Thanksgiving we can reflect on the goodness of the Lord, the beauty of who He is and the blessing known as America. Maybe the gratitude we express this Thanksgiving can remain on the tip of our tongue all year long.

Honestly, gratitude is not easy when we make it about ourselves. Sure, living a grateful life is simply a better way to live. It allows us to see the good and not wallow in the depths of despair. But frankly, gratitude isn’t about us feeling better about life. Rather it is recognizing our great need and God’s great provision.

It isn’t about us. It’s about Him.

Yes, please be thankful for your family, your job, your life. Yet, even more important than being thankful for these things is being thankful to the one who has given you it all.

That is the real difference between being grateful and living a life of gratitude.

“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”

James 1:17