Well, it’s Thanksgiving once again. How time flies! When this season rolls around annually, I find myself often reflecting back on Thanksgivings past … back to the smells, the sounds, and the memories that will last forever.
I remember, as a grade-schooler, standing in the gymnasium … half of us dressed in headbands and feathers and the other half wearing pilgrim hats and collars made of heavy construction paper held together with our favorite edible paste. My classmates and I did our best to warble the sweet sounds of our annual favorite hymn, “We Gather Together.” It always brought tears to my eyes. It wasn’t really a religious hymn, but it certainly felt like it. To this day, I remember every word.
“We Gather Together”
We gather together to ask the Lord’s blessing;
He chastens and hastens His will to make known;
The wicked oppressing now cease from distressing,
Sing praises to His name: He forgets not his own.
Beside us to guide us, our God with us joining,
Ordaining, maintaining His kingdom divine
So from the beginning the fight we were winning;
Thou, Lord, wast at our side, All glory be thine!
We all do extol thee, thou leader triumphant,
And pray that thou still our defender wilt be.
Let thy congregation escape tribulation;
Thy name be ever praised! O Lord, make us free!
Back in those days, I was under the impression that we, as Americans, had been celebrating Thanksgiving since the first meeting between our Pilgrims and Native Americans. Like so many others, I commonly believed that the first Thanksgiving happened in 1621 at Plymouth, Massachusetts, and has continued to our present celebrations.
In the meantime, from all of us at the AchieveMax® company of speakers to all of you and your families … have a wonderful Thanksgiving celebration and enjoy each and every minute of it!
About Harry K. Jones
Harry K. Jones is a motivational speaker and consultant for AchieveMax®, Inc., a company of professional speakers who provide custom-designed seminars, keynote presentations, and consulting services. Harry's top requested topics include change management, customer service, creativity, employee retention, goal setting, leadership, stress management, teamwork, and time management. For more information on Harry's presentations, please call 800-886-2629 or fill out our contact form.