This Thanksgiving is unlike any most of us have ever seen. The pandemic has created many emotions and lots of questions about gathering with family and friends: Do we skip getting together? Do we need to wear a mask? How many people should we invite? While there are no easy answers, it doesn’t mean that we can’t give thanks for all the good in our lives.
More than ever we need to cultivate a grateful and generous heart and not let the bad things determine our attitude and spirit of gratitude. If you haven’t gotten sick, then be grateful that you are well, safe and healthy. Or that you are still standing by faith in these social, political and economic turbulent times. With our faith, the light does shine on our path in the midst of darkness. Hope is our anchor in troubled waters. Love keeps us connected to others.
A thankful attitude can stir up the joy from within that unleashes strength to withstand another day. Identifying the good things will outnumber the bad. As someone wrote, “Please remember: your job is the dream of the unemployed; your house is the dream of the homeless; your smile is the dream of the depressed; your health is the dream of those who are sick. Don’t let the difficult times make you forget your blessings.”
Whether we celebrate Thanksgiving this year with a few or alone, one thing we can be thankful for is medical progress, that we have two vaccines that look like they will work, and more should follow. The end of the pandemic looks to be in sight. Thank God!
