The farmer standing in his field, the harvest gathered and in his barn, turns to God to say, "thank you." The stored grain, the canned vegetables, the dried fruits mean he and his family can live another year. He has abundant reason to be thankful.
The American pilgrims after their first successful harvest held a banquet to express thanks to their Indian friends. Harvested food meant the difference between starving to death in winter snow and continuing to live. They were thankful to God, expressing their gratitude in prayer.
Life in its modern covers has come a long way from the time when a stored harvest meant life or death. The supermarket, the grocery store stand between us and that now.
Thanksgiving, the giving of thanks, still comes at that time of the year when the harvest is gathered. It still is a good time of the year to say 'thank you' to God. The right time when everyone is slowing down to the twilight winter days. The people who starve in India and China - do they have a Thanksgiving time? Perhaps for those people fortunate enough to have food in the barn. And then the others who don't, what about them? Let them starve? Is that the thing to do? To praise God for your own food and to forget them? Can you forget them?
Be thankful you have enough to eat and enough to wear. Be thankful you have food to send to others - to other people who would starve otherwise.