Thanksgiving Thoughts by Kristin Hand
The Bible seems very specific that we’re supposed to be thankful, period. No qualifiers needed. Paul says in 1 Thessalonians 5:15 “give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” which seems to say that gratitude should be a way of life. That doesn’t make it easy. I have a hard time with the holidays because the number of people around the table in my family has been shrinking. This is, of course, normal as people get older and pass away. In my family, however, we’ve lost four members of the same side between November 17 and December 7 - right in the prime of the holiday season. Add the sense of loss to my introversion and everything compounds. I love my family - in-laws and all. My family is large with a full gathering being between 10-20 people in the same place at any given time. It’s the appropriate level of noise for that size of gathering, which as I get older, is becoming too loud. And it’s draining. There’s the expectation that yo