Thankful...

This is the time of year to say those words.  You know, Thanksgiving.  It's time to reflect on your life and recognize the gifts and blessings that have been given to you.  This Thursday, most Americans will sit around a table with a feast before them proclaiming their thankfulness to the gifts in their lives.  But what if life hasn't been such a blessing lately?  I know so many people who are struggling right now.  Even if we aren't struggling directly, the news and social media make it clear that many people are.  So how do we celebrate Thanksgiving while we are struggling?

Lately, I have been thinking differently.  Of course, we are thankful for the lives that we have had in this crazy journey, but are we thankful for the loss?  Sometimes things happen and the trajectory of our journey changes, whether it's by the choice of another or the fate of life, there is loss.  Thanksgiving dinner may not look the same this year.  There may be one seat less at the table or maybe a lack of a dinner all together.  Whatever the reason your holiday looks a little different isn't the point, the fact that we can thank God even in the "I didn't want this" or the "I want to just see them one more time" it's the surrender to the One bigger than ourselves.  It's the knowledge of a plan that far exceeds the life we have for ourselves, yep, even in the change we didn't ask for.

I would bet that even in the darkest time of your life, fruit has come from it.  I remember walking my mom to the end of the earth as she battled lung cancer.  It was the most gut-wrenching horrible time.  It brought chaos and strife in the family.  Remember, people grieve in different ways.  I can tell you though, as hard as it was to walk that road, I saw fruit grow.  I got to see a glimpse of my mom's heart that I had never seen before. It was a time that I struggled through yet wouldn't change it for the world.  That's how hard times work.  They are the catalyst to growth.  So, remember as you sit around the table with loved ones this week to be thankful for the rough stuff too, because it is a gift as well.  Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours.