There are 18 days shopping days until Thanksgiving, and I’m concerned about my social media friends, and myself for that matter.
Historically, my Facebook feed in November is resplendent with gratitude challenges, photos and lists of things for which people are thankful. This year, though, things are quiet on the thanks-giving front.
Maybe it’s the never-ending pandemic. Maybe it’s been a difficult year for a lot of people. Maybe it’s the election season and whether or not you are happy with the result. Maybe all of the people making the exodus to Parler are sharing their gratitude there.
It’s been a tough year for a lot of us and for any number of reasons. We’ve grieved much over how life has changed; for the events, milestones, celebrations and gatherings we’ve missed; for the deaths of loved ones we couldn’t properly mourn; for not getting to see friends and loved ones as often as we did just a few months ago.
Meanwhile, the prospect of planning for a holiday season during a pandemic churning out of control may mean Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hannukah and Kwanzaa look different this year.
It all weighs so heavily on our hearts and souls.
Ann Voskamp writes, “Really, when you bury a child–or when you simply get up every day and live life raw–you murmur the question soundlessly. No one hears. Can there be a good God? A God who graces with good gifts when a crib lies empty through long nights, and bugs burrow through coffins? Where is God, really? How can He be good when babies die, and marriages implode, and dreams blow away, dust in the wind? Where is grace bestowed when cancer gnaws and loneliness aches and nameless places in us soundlessly die, break off without reason, erode away. Where hides the joy of the Lord, this God who fills the earth with good things, and how do I fully live when life is full of hurt? How do I wake up to joy and grace and beauty and all that is the fullest life when I must stay numb to losses and crushed dreams and all that empties me out?”
In her book, one thousand gifts, Voskamp breaks down the idea of giving thanks, as Jesus did at that last supper with his apostles mere hours before He was crucified. Eucharisteo is the Greek word for “giving thanks” or gratitude. The root of Eucharisteo is “charis,” which means grace, and also “chara,” which means joy. It may be difficult to imagine, but even in the most difficult moments of our lives there are reasons to give thanks, which is the point of Voskamp’s book.
I’ve told the story many times of how I discovered this amazing book during my cancer journey, and how it literally changed my life. I came through the experience a different man because I found reasons to be grateful every day. It sounds almost too simple, I know, but keeping daily lists of three things for which you are grateful will change your perspective on everything. God blesses us with gifts continuously if only we have eyes to see them, especially during the darkest moments of our lives when we need them most.
Thanksgiving is coming, but it doesn’t have to be a one-day deal. It’s easy to be thankful when the house is full of loved ones, the table is piled high with food, there’s a roof over our heads and everyone is on their best behavior. How thankful will you be on Friday morning, when you’re pushing through the crowd trying to get the last sale-priced coffee maker or on Saturday morning when the post-turkey weekend rush has passed?
Be thankful every day. List those things for which you are grateful. If you’re so inclined, share them on social media. Spread the gratitude. You may even light a spark of gratitude in another person.
What are you grateful for right now, today?
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