Today is for many a happy occasion, a time to enjoy company and food, watch football and prepare for black friday sales. Unfortunately for many today is a struggle, it is a day filled with dread of the same family fights that play out year after year. For others today is filled with sorrow, memories of loved ones who have passed away and the pain of grief. Then there are those who through circumstances of life, find themselves out on the street. Many of those in such a prosperous nation are those who volunteered to fight in wars and came home broken; unable to adapt, filled with the pain of losing comrades in arms, living with PTSD and the effects of war on the mind and soul. Then there are those who are just broken physically or mentally, unable to hold down jobs; life has defeated them.
Sometimes it is difficult to remember to celebrate being thankful when seeing such pain in the world. It hurts to think “there but for the grace of God go I” when that feels in some way a curse, being unable to help those truly in need when my paycheck barely stretches to cover the medical bills that pile up. It is not cheap to have mental illness or physical illness, some people in this world believe that it is punishment from God and spread their false doctrine of prosperity gospel. They fail to see that every time Israel turned away from helping the sick, the poor, widows, children, the imprisoned that God punished them.
This Thanksgiving I am thankful for medication that works, for a job at an amazing company that positively impacts the lives of others, for a family to love that loves me back.