Thanksgiving Week 2021

You may feel like there is not a whole lot to be grateful this Thanksgiving season. Who could blame you?

2021 has been nerve-racking for everyone.??The virus rerouted.??Trust of government, doctors,??and information hit all-time lows.??Families are torn apart by strong opinions about questions without answers. American citizens invaded our capitol. Afghanistan deployment was disastrous. Fellow Americans want to defund those who serve and protect.??

Good grief.

Regardless of our quirks and burps, we still live in the greatest county on earth.??But, I sense many feel a heaviness about our present and future. We have been a prisoner of chaotic moments for too many moments, trapped with emotions holding us captive. Our world is loud and hurried … the farthest we can get from calm, and peaceful.

Maybe it is time to step back and reboot.??There is no better time than Thanksgiving to do that.??Will you join me?

A good starting place is to revisit Reinhold Neibuhr’s Serenity Prayer.??You may recall the first sentence:??God, grant me the Serenity to accept the things I cannot change … Courage to change the things I can, and Wisdom to know the difference.???

The remainder of the prayer isn’t quoted as much:?Living one day at a time, enjoying one moment at a time, accepting hardship as the pathway to peace.??

The prayer ends with an important bottom line:?That I may be reasonably happy in this life, and supremely happy with Him forever in the next.

It is tough to live any part of that prayer while being bitter and consumed by critical and angry opinions.??It is hopeless to be reasonably happy while being unreasonably unhappy with many with opposing views.??It is impossible to be supremely happy with Him in the next while being supremely unhappy with His in the present.

I believe I can do better, maybe you feel the same. Stepping back and rebooting begins with you and me, right where we are.???

Regardless of our concerns, we can be a light of encouragement to others on our quest to become more reasonably happy now and supremely happy with Him forever in the next. Those we touch may do the same.??

We have a lot to be thankful for but sometimes reasons for gratefulness is difficult to see through fog created by some of our choices. Maybe it is time to evaluate the input into our life and determine if it is helping us be thankful and reasonably happy. For me, being reasonably happy is difficult while feverishly listening or reading opinions of people who are constantly bashing - or agreeing - with me. Maybe it is time to connect with those you love rather than being constantly connected to things that upset you.??Maybe it is time to pick up the phone and call someone and tell them how thankful you are that they are a part of your life. Why not write a personal note to someone who could use a word of encouragement???

Thanksgiving is also a good time to revisit how much we laugh.??Laughter is healthy, good for the soul, and is stress-relieving prescription anyone can fill.??When I was growing up and later while raising my kids, I looked forward to laughing with my family. We would laugh and share experiences with Lucy and Ricky, The Fonz, Sam and Norm, Andy and Barney, Mary and Lou, and Frazer. Laughing and relating to the characters helped bond our family.

Those days have passed but the need for laughter remains.??I hope you will search and find an avenue of laughter that will help take away some of the heaviness of life.??The next move is always yours.

If you are searching for a Thanksgiving season movie to enjoy, watch John Candy and Steve Martin at their very best in the movie?Planes, Trains and Automobiles. It may rekindle your love of??laughter, reinforce how special Thanksgiving is to your family, and help you step back and reboot.??

Happy Thanksgiving 2021!