MA-SMS

Thanksgiving is not far away, so to mark the occasion, we welcomed some 400+ students this morning.

When I asked them what the big fuss about this coming weekend was all about, they answered, 'It's Thanksgiving'. Pushed a bit further, the answers became a bit more interesting, 'It's a holiday, we'll have lots of food, including turkey.'

This was my cue. Kids were quick to point out the abundance that they would enjoy this weekend, but this blessing had to be understood in the light of another reality. Some of the younger children had brought cans of food which would eventually be distributed to food banks and other agencies throughout the city, so I picked one up, read the label and then explained that many of us take food for granted. Many of us have no shortage of vegetables available to us (assuming that we even like them), but like and dislike is a luxury that some children don't have. Rather, they must take what they get because they don't know where their next meal is coming from.

Perhaps children might understand the lessons of giving thanks if we challenged them to give up some time spent on an XBox or Wii machine, or even in front of a computer or television, and instead chose to spend some time actually talking with friends and family this weekend. That would create a whole different kind of Thanksgiving experience.

The challenge I thew out to them: dare to look around a room (any room) this weekend. Think not about what you see, but about the people who made this room possible, the people who gave of themselves so that the things we have could be purchased, the people who fabricated the things we take for granted ... and others in our world who don't have these things either because they can't afford them, or because things have been taken away from them. Think also about those who are suffering because of typhoons, earthquakes, and other natural disasters.

I wonder if Thanksgiving will be different this year.