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Grateful Hearts

November 24, 2014
Weekly Columns

As we gather around the Thanksgiving table this week, we are reminded about the many things for which we are grateful as individuals, as families, as friends, as communities and as a nation. On Thanksgiving and throughout the holiday season, we pause with grateful hearts, reflect upon our blessings and share them with one another.

Even before we became the United States of America, the tradition of taking a special day to count our blessings has long been observed. While the idea originated with that first feast at Plymouth, in which the Pilgrims and Native Americans came together to give thanks for the harvest, Thanksgiving was declared a national holiday on October 3, 1789 by President George Washington. The presidential proclamation recommended a “day of public thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness.” Those words reflected the outlook of the American people, and they are words still relevant and worth living by today.

While much has changed since our nation’s beginnings, we remain grateful for the freedoms that our founding fathers risked their lives to secure and generations of other Americans have fought hard to preserve. More than 238 years since we became a nation, our freedoms are still unique, still worth fighting for and still deserving of our gratitude. Indeed, we are truly a blessed nation.

This week, as you’re planning your Thanksgiving feast, attending events to observe the day, giving back to the community, relaxing while watching football or just enjoying time with your precious loved ones, I hope you’ll join me in giving thanks.