Beware of culture’s insidious trap of “Gotta have more!” There’s far more to life than stuff.

“So, how was your Thanksgiving?”

“Tiring, but so worth it. Watched a couple of games on TV before we grabbed a chicken salad sandwich and then headed to BestMart to get in line. I wanted one of the $75 55’ inch TVs, but there were already 150 people in line who got there on Tuesday. But, hey, came away with a new HDMI cord, several movies that I had wanted and a $35 printer as a backup in case either of my present ones give out.”

“Wow … I’m tired on your behalf. Bet you were glad for a quiet Saturday.”

“Oh no, Saturday was just as busy. Black Saturday/Small Business Shopping Day. Probably spent as much time driving around as we did shopping, but you should see the stuff in the trunk. It was pretty awesome. But I will be glad to get to stay home Monday and shop. Cyber Monday you know.”

“Well, at least you probably got your Christmas shopping done, right? That’s got to be worth some of what you went through.”

“Actually, I doubt we got any Christmas shopping accomplished. Mostly things we saw and needed ourselves … maybe not necessarily needed, but saw and wanted. Anyway, it was pretty awesome. What did you do?

“Had the whole family over … turkey came out about one and somehow got all of us around the table. Can’t remember when I ate more, laughed more or enjoyed more. Couldn’t help but stare at each of the grandkids and ponder where time has gone. It’s hard to believe we could eat anymore that day, but around six we made turkey sandwiches, brought out the pies again and laughed and cried our way through our favorite Christmas movie. Pretty special day, really.”

“Bummer … you missed all the sales, didn’t you?”

“Actually? I don’t think I missed them at all.”

Remember – Thanksgiving is a time to be thankful for what you have; not a day to covet everything you don’t have.

“ … true godliness with contentment is itself great wealth.”

I  Timothy 6:6 New Living Translation