50+ Lifestyles

Giving Thanks

By David W. Deuth, CFSP
President, Weerts Funeral Home

A quote that has been attributed to Winston Churchill is among my all-time favorites: “We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give.”
Some years in the past, many – if not most – areas of the country witnessed dramatic increases in property values. The stock market only continued to climb. Businesses, seizing new innovations, new markets and new opportunities, expanded.

Then, as gas prices soared, asset values dropped and credit margins were exposed, we were witness to a dramatically rapid turnaround in the economy. The down side of the economy became very evident.

“Thanksgiving,” it seems, has come to have certain connotations in our society: the fourth Thursday in November. Family gatherings. Feasting on turkey and all the trimmings. Football…
I wonder what would happen if we approached “Thanksgiving” a little differently this year. What if we put all of our preconceived notions aside and thought of it instead as “Giving Thanks”?
What’s to give thanks for in all of this?, some may ask. Many corporations have downsized; some have closed. Many workers are looking for new jobs; some for second jobs. Costs have risen for nearly everything. Most everyone is watching their pocketbook more closely.

But don’t we still have much for which to Give Thanks? We can be Giving Thanks for our heritage. Giving Thanks for our freedom. Giving Thanks for our families. Giving Thanks for our friends. Giving Thanks for the gift of life…

Previous generations have endured hardships that we have never known. We must be grateful to them for their perseverance, and for their determination to provide a better life for us. Even as we enter these uncertain times, it is our turn to persevere. We must do all we can to provide well for our future generations. And although it will be uncomfortable for a time, we must seek and embrace – and give thanks for – the things we cherish so deeply which can neither be bought nor sold.

Mr. Churchill was right. We make a life by what we give. Indeed, the Scriptures remind us that it is “more blessed to give than to receive.”

Let’s start by Giving Thanks.
We can all afford that.
Give Thanks. Remember Well.

David W. Deuth, CFSP, is a funeral director and is the owner of Weerts Funeral Home in Davenport and RiverBend Cremation and Quad Cities Pet Cremation in Bettendorf. He can be reached by email at Dave@WeertsFH.com.