There are people whose hearts burn with gratitude even in the midst of hardship.
The Pilgrims who founded the first permanent European colonial settlement in New England in 1620 suffered continuous hardship. Yet they are remembered for their celebration of gratitude for their good harvest in 1621. Their example is kept alive in human thought with the help of a national Thanksgiving Day each November in the United States. Likewise, other countries have since initiated their own days of thanksgiving. The Pilgrims' example serves as a reminder to take note of the good that is going on in our lives and homes, and in our communities, nations, and the world—and to thank God for it.
Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, extended the celebration of Thanksgiving Day beyond the United States to all humanity when she established a Thanksgiving Day service to be conducted in all Churches of Christ, Scientist, throughout the world. These worship services have proved from year to year to be exceptionally joyful gatherings—of members, families, and guests listening to the Word of God, singing His praise, joining in audible and silent prayer, quietly contemplating what they have to be grateful for. And Christian Scientists gratefully testify to the evidence of God's goodness that has come into their experience throughout the past year. Hearts well up with a feeling of "O come, let us sing unto the Lord: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation. Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms." Ps. 95:1, 2.
