Like most holidays, the foundation of the faith underlying our observance of Thanksgiving lies buried under the flash and glitter of secularism.

For too many of us, Thanksgiving is a day or two off from work, a time the kids are free from the pressures of school, and an opportunity to stuff ourselves like a turkey with all the trimmings and then waddle to a sofa to doze and watch football games – or clean up the mess we made preparing and serving the food.

Too often we forget that in the United States, Thanksgiving is rooted in faith and thankfulness toward God.

The scene, though somewhat romanticized, is reenacted dozens of times: Little children dress up like Pilgrims and Indians to portray that first Thanksgiving in long-ago 1621. What we forget is that the Pilgrims were truly grateful. They landed at Plymouth in November 1620. In case you have forgotten, Plymouth is in Massachusetts, and the winters there can be bitterly cruel. The Pilgrims struggled through that first winter. Nearly half their company died and was buried in an American wilderness.

During that spring and summer, the Pilgrims, with the help of Native Americans, prepared fields and planted crops. The harvest was bountiful and enabled the Pilgrims to have food for the winter and through their next harvest.

Governor William Bradford proclaimed a day of thanksgiving. This celebration was to be shared by all the colonists and their Native American neighbors – before suspicion and mistreatment fueled animosity on both sides.

Each year when Thanksgiving rolls around, I take some time to count my blessings. I always say with the patriarch Jacob, “I am not worthy of the least of God’s mercies.”

I am thankful for my family. I have a loving wife willing to put up with me – and four children who make me proud and who listen, sometimes reluctantly, to me tell the same stories over and over. I have 12 bundles of energy called grandchildren. Every member of this part of my family lives within an hour of me, so we can see each other regularly, even though not as often as I would like.

The oldest four – the ones I call “The Old Guard – are all adults now. They either have good jobs or are in college. The elder member of “The Young Guns” is a high school senior this year. I have two sophomores, two freshmen, two seventh graders, and one fifth grader. They will never understand the joy they bring to my life – and the gratitude I feel that the Lord allowed me to live long enough to see them.

I am thankful for my mother. At 96, she has slowed down because of physical challenges, but her mind is just as sharp as ever. She is stubbornly independent. She grew up in a generation of people who believed in self-sufficiency, in integrity, and in frugality.

I am thankful for my brother John and his family. He served in the U.S. Navy as a pilot for 12 years – and three of his children followed his path into military service: two in the Navy and one in the Air Force. His daughter Ginny is now doing her residency in a hospital near Cincinnati, Ohio, as a family physician.

I am thankful for my church family. Though small, we are close-knit and care deeply about each other. I am thankful for the many students at Dobbs School, Farmville Central, and East Carolina who allowed me to be part of their educational experience. They still constantly enrich my life.

I am grateful to live in North Carolina – the crown jewel of all states. What other state offers great weather, beautiful scenery, clean air, and mountains and beaches? My native state, Virginia, may be for lovers, but I love calling North Carolina home.

And though it may sound silly, I am grateful my nose and taste buds work. What greater pleasure can we have during this season than to bathe in the aromas of traditional foods – and then eat samples of them?

I am most thankful to God, who has allowed me to know Him and have such a great life. He has blessed me more than I deserve.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving – and spend at least some time counting your blessings.

Mike Parker is a columnist for the Neuse News. You can reach him at mparker16@gmail.com.