Such a perfect sentiment as I get ready to be with extended family for Thanksgiving. I am hungry, not just in body, but in my soul, for the blessed time of conversation, of catching up, of chilling out, of playing with cousins and nieces and nephews, that Thanksgiving brings. Being together is good.
I know all too well that there's plenty to be concerned about this Thanksgiving. More than one person has noted the irony of celebrating this holiday which boded so ill for Native Americans, during the largest protest movement of Native Americans in a generation: while protesters are being sprayed with water cannons in freezing cold temperatures.
It's also true that Thanksgiving will be a tense time for many, in the wake of a contentious election season on which many families will be divided. Already strained relationships may be tested, and for many today, the goal will be just to "get through it."
Being together is not always easy. But it is always good. It is always necessary. It's just as easy to starve your soul as it is your body, and that won't do any good at all for the people and causes you care about.
The Holiday season (Advent, for us Jesus types) is a long, hard slog in a lot of ways. Just bracketing out the din of consumerism and false expectations is going to take all you've got. Just trying to love your neighbor when the whole world is screaming in your ear to love yourself, will take all you've got. It's really not the kind of work you want to set to on an empty stomach...or an empty soul.
So to those looking forward to this weekend, who will be filled up by it, I pray you can savor it. And for those just hoping to get through it mostly in one piece, I'll be praying for you too...for patience, but also that the feast you need will come find you, and people who feed your soul will surround you. We all need it so badly. Being together is good.
Dear God, thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment