Among the many rich items in American history is the origin of Thanksgiving.
The first official Thanksgiving holiday for our country was cast into history by a proclamation given by President George Washington during his first term. GW = George Washington of course.
This is an amazing piece of writing along with the story of hardships and victory witnessed by Washington during the Revolutionary War. You can read it on Wikipedia. I find his perspective admirable and humbling. Here are a few observations from Washington’s proclamation of 1789:
According to Washington:
It is the duty of all nations – all people – to do several things as an act of Thanksgiving …
- Recognize that God superintends all life
- Obey God’s will
- Be grateful for the benefits which belong to Him, yet are enjoyed by us
- Humbly and respectfully ask and seek God to provide protection and favor
Thanksgiving is a day which should be set aside and devoted to …
- Making sure our hearts are grateful
- Openly acknowledging the specific ways God has blessed us
- Especially acknowledge the great blessing we have in a peaceable and democratic government
- Serving God Himself, who is “the Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be.”
- Unite together with other people to give thanks to God
We should make special care to be thankful for specific blessings in our land …
- Protection from war
- The great degree and length of peace under which we have prospered
- Civil and religious liberties
- The specific opportunities we have to share our prosperity and knowledge to help others
In our prayers we are encouraged to …
- Humbly ask “the great Lord and Ruler of Nations” for forgiveness
- Ask for our government to be a blessing to all peoples
- Ask for strength to be able to carry out our civic duties properly and punctually
– Paraphrasing all mine. Take a look at the original document to gain a clearer picture.
This encourages me to be slow and careful to recognize the overflowing goodness of God poured out to me every day.
Happy Thanksgiving!