Reflecting on the holiday season

We are about to celebrate Thanksgiving, and then the day afterward, the Christmas spending season kicks into high gear as millions participate in Black Friday sales.
It is almost bizarre how one day each year is devoted to being thankful for what we have, and the next day our focus shifts to having more stuff. It almost seems we can only tolerate just one day of formal gratitude.
I am not suggesting it is wrong to enjoy getting new things.
However, it is easy to take the day set aside for being thankful for what we have, and instead focus on lesser things like eating a great meal and watching parades and football games.
There is nothing wrong with Thanksgiving traditions, but they must not distract us from actually being thankful.
It is appropriate to be grateful, especially when we consider these facts:
According to a 2018 report in U.S. News & World Report, about half of the world’s population is living on less than $5.50 a day and roughly 10 percent of the people in the world live on less than $1.90 per day.
In 2018, 5.4 million children died before they reached their fifth birthday, which means roughly 15,000 children die each day.
Many of these deaths can be attributed to malnutrition, a lack of clean water and poor sanitation.

According to a Google search, the country of Angola currently has the highest infant mortality rate in the world with 180.2 infant deaths per 1,000 births.
I am not using these statistics to shock, but these children are not numbers.
They are real kids who live, breathe and die.
They represent the painful stories of a multitude of parents grieving the loss of each child.
My goal is not to make readers feel guilty because we are blessed.
My hope is that these statistics make us think about how we are incredibly blessed instead of taking our blessings for granted.
As we enter the holiday season of Thanksgiving, Christmas and the New Year, please join me in committing yourself to being more aware of how much each of us has been blessed.
As this year comes to an end, take a moment to thank God that neither you, nor your family is hungry.
Find a church, local charity, or charitable organization to share with between now and Dec. 31.
Slow down, look up, be grateful for your blessings, notice others who do not have what most of us take for granted, and share some of your abundance with them.