Nov 25, 20202 min read

Bittersweet Thanksgiving..

This Thanksgiving just feels a little different. Families deciding if and how to get together. Decisions being made between the normal traditions and keeping loved ones safe. Yet, if we are honest Thanksgiving begins a season that for many can be bittersweet. We gather around the tables and someone is missing who died in the year between our last feast. We gather around the table and we are sad for the spot that many thought would be filled with a new child but the couple who had much hope was not able conceive. Or the spot that goes empty because they are deployed, away on business, or the child who just got married is creating "new" family traditions or are just visiting the other side of the family. Or we gather around the table knowing this might be the last one we, or a loved one, will celebrate upon this earth. We often focus on the sweet side of Thanksgiving but there is always a mixture of joy and sorrow. So this year, is like every other but the pandemic has reminded and stirred up the feelings of sorrow, of loss, of anxiety, of stress, of bitterness. If we are honest Thanksgiving reminds us that we are really not in control. We take time to remember that we have so little control of what happens in our lives and that God is the one that is in control. We take time to remember that while we don't understand why God does things the way God does, we still trust that God is good. We take time to thank God for all the blessings, all the good things that we have and have had. No matter what we thank God for that which is sweet in our lives. We take time to remember that even though there is a taste of bitter, we can not focus on the bitterness. That ultimately God will set all things right, and that all good things will be made new. So please, don't focus on what you can't do or decided not do this Thanksgiving but instead look at this as a time to reflect on the good and glorious gifts God gives you every day. And no, no it is not exactly as we would like it to be but that God is in even this, melting away the bitterness into sweetness. That God continues to provide things to be thankful for and that we should savor the sweetness of God's good gifts to us.