The past 18 months have left me exhausted and anxious, and maybe a little bit angry. The pandemic, politics, the suffering we see all around us, the cry for justice from marginalized communities have taken their toll and left me overwhelmed.

So, in this season of Thanksgiving, just before we enter Advent where we await Messiah’s birth, I just need to stop. I need to inhale slowly and say hello.

Hello to gratitude.
Hello to hope.
Hello to life.
Hello to grace.

I also need to notice. Notice what makes life beautiful.

The laugh of a child.
The contentment after a good meal shared with family or friends.
Crisp air in the morning, warm sun in the afternoon.
The brilliant colors in the changing landscape as it prepares for winter.
Sweaters and boots.
A crackling campfire.
The twinkling stars on a dark, clear night.

And, I need to honor the eternal.

God, our Source. Our ground of being.
People, of every color and every nation, for they carry the image of God our Creator.
Grace, redeeming and restoring the broken and the broken-hearted.
Love, for without love we are like sounding brass and clanging symbols.

Anyone who belongs to Christ is a new person. The past is forgotten, and everything is new.
                                                                                                                                              2 Corinthians 5:17

May the God of all good things grant us peace, grant us love, grant us joy, this Thanksgiving season. May He make us all new.

Amen.