Thanksgiving has come and gone and all the turkey has either been eaten or given to the dog and we’re now focused on Christmas I would like to share with you what I have learned about giving thanks.

Over Thanksgiving break, I had the opportunity to serve those who did not have the benefits and privileges that I myself have. A fellow student, Holly Davidson, and I gave out Thanksgiving baskets to those who were less fortunate than we. The estimate of residents with income below the poverty level as of 2007 in Lewiston is 20.6% as opposed to 12% for the whole state of Maine. Our youth group, The Riot, decided that they would bless families in need in the Central Maine area with baskets filled with everything from the turkey to the pumpkin pie mix, mac and cheese and just about everything else in between.

One of the stops we made was the home of a teen mom who has two children and very little income. We walked up to the door and she came out to meet us and was rather surprised to see us with bags of groceries in our hands. The gratitude that Holly and I saw in this young woman’s eyes was heart-breakingly gratifying for both of us. I found that the true meaning of giving thanks is not necessarily about giving thanks for what I have but, about what I can give. All I did was place a bag of food on a table in a house and a family’s holiday was changed, a toddler boy and girl will never forget the day that someone cared, someone loved, someone thought about them when no one else seemed to give them a second thought. They saw that someone had a heart that beat for them and for their needs and I was privileged enough to be a part of that. I encourage you, that in this season and society so wrapped up in what they can get and what they have, to think about what it is you can give.

Look at the needs around you and ask yourself how you can address them. Instead of games, movies and toys, ask for gift cards to Wal-Mart or a supermarket and give those gifts cards to an elderly person or family in need that you know of; write a card for an orphan or a child in need and tell them that someone cares about them and loves them. During this time of giving and having seen the gratitude from a simple act of kindness, I have realized that I cannot simply forget about the needs of my community from January to October this coming year; I must make myself known to the issues that face my community every day.