&uot;Give thanks.&uot; Those two words carry such different meanings for so many of us.

Ask any group of children what they are thankful for, and you’ll get answers ranging from &uot;Nintendo&uot; to &uot;my Mom and Dad&uot; to &uot;my dog.&uot;

As adults, some of us are thankful for family and friends; others for success, whether personal or financial; some for the strength to overcome illness and challenges; and others for countless numbers of blessings and gifts.

As Americans, we are thankful for our freedom, our history, even the country in which we live.

Perhaps the Pilgrims knew best of all what it meant to &uot;give thanks.&uot;

In a strange land, far away from home, they could have gathered together and griped about the cold weather; the strange food; the unexplored landscape; even the savage Indians.

But they didn’t.

Instead, these early settlers chose to give thanks – for the food they had, for the opportunity to settle in a new country, for their faith and the strength it gave them to face the challenges ahead.

They simply chose to see to the blessings in their lives and to pause, if only for a day, to be thankful for those blessings.

Few of us really appreciate on a daily basis the gifts we’ve been given – life, freedom, the ability to love and be loved, and the power to summon our own resources and abilities to change and direct our lives.

So maybe today we should be true to those Pilgrim forefathers and take stock of our blessings and gifts.

And we should take time to &uot;give thanks,&uot; for all those gifts and more.