For Wilshire Baptist Church
Thanksgiving week is here and it’s like walking out on the beach and seeing a big whale spread across the sand. We know it’s there because it’s so big, and we want to say something about it but it’s so obvious to everyone that we doubt we could say anything new or interesting about it. Especially in a year like this, when we have so much to be disappointed in and sad about. Like with that whale, there’s a heavy odor that has overwhelmed just about everything this year.
And yet . . .
I’m thankful for family and friends who have been here and provided merciful doses of “normal” in a completely abnormal year. Sometimes we couldn’t get any closer than Zoom, sometimes we talked through our masks or across expanses of pavement or from the opposite ends of long tables, but we were here for each other.
I’m thankful for a year in which so much was canceled that I was forced to reset my priorities, re-orient my compass, focus on simple pleasures and celebrate small victories.
I’m thankful for the cutting back and forced saving that this year has prompted. Not that we were out of control, but there certainly have been no big splurges or binges this year. That has kept us mindful of our relative plenty and has kept us prepared and able to help others not as fortunate.
I’m thankful for the falling leaves that are piling up all over our yard. They are evidence of the changing of the seasons and reminders that God’s creation continues and will endure no matter what.