Glacier County chief., 1940-11-08
Thanksgiving Day

"HE Psalmist sang Psalms 50:
30), ~ will praise the name Of
Il God with song, and will mag
nifty him with thanksgiving" Thanks
giving Day, in the United States,
originated with the Pilgrims. who set
apart a day for thanksgiving to God
after their first harvest in 1921. Later
on, President Lincoln appointed the
last Thursday in November. 1868, to
be set aside for thanksgiving and
praise to God.
The Pilgrims encountered many
difficult problems in establishing their
homes in a new land, but through
steadily turning to their heavenly
Father for help they were guided
through them all. Is it any wonder
that their sense of gratitude for their
deliverance caused them to render
thanks to the Giver of all good gifts?
As Thanksgiving Day recurs
through the years, we are reminded
of the Psalmist's statement Psalms
26:6, y. Il will wash mine hands
in innocency: that | may pub
fish with the voice of thanksgiving,
and tell of all thy wondrous works"
Today our hearts go out in gratitude
to God, divine Love, who is leading
the people OF many nations through
the Red Sea and the wilderness of
materially, and who will deliver
them as they seek His presence. In
the face of wars and rumours of
wars" we can lift our thought in
Thanksgiving to God: for is there not
always something for which we can
be thankful? In The First Church
of Christ, Scientist. and Miscellany"
opp. l49, 1907 Mary Baker Eddy
writes: Remember, thou canst be
brought into no condition. be it ever
so severe, where Love has not been
before thee and where its tender lesson
is not awaiting thee. Therefore des-
pair not nor murmur, for that which
seeketh to save. to heal, and to de-
liver. will guide thee, if thou seekest
this guidance" The demonstrable
truth that divine Love is with US and
will guide US if we seek its guidance,
is indeed cause for thanksgiving. :.
We must maintain this constant
Thanksgiving in our thought. AS we
acknowledge the one God. we begin to
comprehend our true habitation in the
kingdom of heaven, and are safe
therein. This is our defense, which
can never be taken from US, where
ever we may be. We are safe and
protected under all circumstances and
conditions if we acknowledge Gods
allness and our unity with Him. Noah
in the ark, Joseph in exile, the He
brews in the fiery furnace, Daniel
in the lions den, and Jesus-most
glorious of misunderstood and proved
Gods supremacy. They were pro-
tected through every trying exper-
fence and thus proved the powerless-
ness of mortal mind.
In what may seem a saddened home,
darkened by mortal minds illusions, in
apprehension of still other contests to
be waged, one may express thanksgiv-
ing that God is ever present, and that
right must and does win the victory
over the claims of evil. Mortal mind
claims to put heavy burdens upon US.
1t attempts to bring utter despair and
dependency; it appears to lay waste
the achievements of years of pro-
gressive work, but there rings forth
the command that sounded in the ears
of the childen of Israel to go forward.
We should never look back. Looking
back into matter means looking back
into illusion. Evil is not power, real
ity, or substance. The aggressive
suggestions OF evil would claim to
Guido the love of God, but thought
which trusts in Him cannot be mes
merized into admitting that evil has
reality, personality, place, or power.
Thanksgiving Day should mean that
We give our whole-hearted praise to
God, the omnipresent Mind, who loves
and cares for all His children. 1t is
not a day to be spent in wasting,
wantonness, or in the qualification of
the senses. Rather is it a holy day,
in which thought should be lifted in
Thanksgiving to God, and to the men
and women throughout the centuries
who have given unselfshly to the cause
of freedom and the betterment of
mankind. In response to a request
from newspaper for "a sentiment on
what the last Thanksgiving Day of
the nineteenth century should signify
to all mankind" Mrs. Eddy said, in
part, it signified that the Christ
spirit will cleanse the earth of human
gore; that civilization, peace between
nations, and the brotherhood of man
should be established, and justice plead
not vainly in behalf of the slcreC
rights Of individuals. peoples. and
nations miscellany, PIP. 264. 1861.
This sets forth the glorious purpos.
of Thanksgiving Day.
Tile Christian Science H"utto