Congress made Thanksgiving Day an official holiday in 1941, less than 100 years after President Abraham Lincoln declared the last Thursday in November a national day of thanksgiving.

If a feast is spread across your dining room table today, and friends and loved ones fill the chairs;

If you have a job that pays the bills for you and your family, and perhaps have a little left over for the extras in life;

If you can worship or reject the deity of your choice on the day of your choice at the place of your choice through the method of your choice;

If your son or daughter has arrived safely at home after going out with friends;

If you can share your money, time or talents with people in need;

If your heart is beating, your lungs breathing, your body functioning as it was designed;

If you can walk the streets without sand stinging your eyes, without the sniper’s bullet piercing the silence, without the fear of car bombs exploding in the market square;

If others have expressed their gratefulness to you for treating them kindly;

If you can vote for whomever you choose and criticize the views and actions of your leaders without fear of prison or death or petty reprisal;

If you can set and meet your educational goals or pursue your vocational dreams;

If you can sleep in the security of a home where the lights are still glowing, the water still running, the heat still burning;

If you can hold hands with the one you love, share intimate words and gentle moments, be there for one another through good times and bad;

If you can see the earth’s beauty, hear its music, smell its sweet aroma, taste its harvest, touch its cool waters;

If you have hope despite an impossible situation, faith despite despair;

If you have a ride to the grocery store, the doctor’s office, the drug store, place of worship, play and work;

If your mind is sharp, free of mental shadows and constant anxieties that make it tough to continue;

If you live in a community where people value your words and respect you as a person of equal worth;

If your home is a haven of peace where you feel safe and loved, where family members celebrate your victories and encourage you after failure, where you can forgive and be forgiven;

Give thanks.