"The Shepherds Way" E.W.King: An Early Thanksgiving

Wednesday, November 24, 2021

An Early Thanksgiving

by Chiazo Obiudu

It’s already a few days into the new year. Most of the merriment and festivities are over, and life is gradually returning to normal. Workers are back at work and students are back in school, or at least getting ready to go back. It’s about to be business as usual.

Then comes the sudden realization that our new set of New Year’s resolutions nearly matches the ones made almost a year ago. Perhaps like me, you just realized that the weight loss goal you set for yourself at the beginning of 2019 is still nothing but a goal, set and made on paper. If anything, you might have added a few extra pounds, just like me, again.

But hold on. Just before you rush off to renew your gym membership for another year or embark on another quick-fix diet, or take on any other project to try to fix things, let’s put things in the right perspective. It’s so easy for us to start each year with a familiar tinge of regret, coupled with frantic efforts (which are often abandoned few weeks into the year) to try to correct what we perceive are our shortcomings.

So instead of starting this year with the usual rush into new resolutions and plans of how to better our performance of the previous year, let’s start by thanking God for all the good that came our way last year and for all we were able to accomplish. Count your blessings and see what God has done.

Yes, let’s have an early Thanksgiving. Let’s celebrate the passing year with all its pains and gains. Celebrate new friends made and old relationships restored. Celebrate new heights attained and old fears subdued. Celebrate new beginnings and new births; and celebrate those who passed with the ending year.

Then we can go about setting goals for this year with a more positive attitude. And in this spirit of thanksgiving and with ample help from the Holy Spirit, we can trust God as we approach His throne to receive mercy and find grace to help us in making plans and hopefully in achieving our targets for this year.

Chiazo Obiudu is an author, creative writer and mother of three from Nigeria.

*Visit some past TSW Thanksgivings!