Today, as we give thanks for all of our blessings and benefits, for our families and friends, our achievements great and small, and our bounty of wealth and prosperity, I'm reminded of what my fellow Kentuckian Abraham Lincoln once said, that "these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come." It was October of 1863 when Lincoln, "in the midst of a civil war of unequalled magnitude and severity" officially proclaimed the Thanksgiving holiday in the United States so that our many blessings "should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People." In this time of COVID, when so much seems dark, let us remember Lincoln, and his poise and grace in the midst of a furious struggle for the soul of our nation. Let us remember that in spite of his struggles and the furious times in which he lived, he took the time to invite us all to "set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise."