Dispel the Gloom

(Posted November 17, 2018)

The thing about November is the dying of the daylight. It seems as if we watch our days draw shorter with every sunset. And nobody asked us how we feel about that. The November sky compounds it with its leaden gray shade, so that anyone with a hidden burden to deal with feels the weight of it even more. Even our “porch squirrel” has added his touch to this weird atmosphere by eating straight through the one remaining pumpkin, creating a giant Cyclops eye that’s more reminiscent of The Nightmare Before Christmas than it is an upcoming Thanksgiving week. 

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There’s one thing that can dispel the gloom of shorter days and unresolved problems and anxieties, and that’s HOME. The glow of home is more than that in a fireplace- if we have one. It’s more than a warm chair. It’s being in a place where we are welcome, where our presence is familiar, where we become “family” even though we don’t share one speck of DNA with the friends we gather with. Quite truthfully, the holidays CAN be quite challenging when we share them with our “blood relations,” since they know us all too well and know how to press our buttons. It’s a great idea to include some friends in your holidays for, after all, it’s said that “Friends are God’s apology for giving us our relatives.” In fact, if you are looking for a way to brighten your Thanksgiving, why not consider inviting someone who would otherwise spend the day alone? Think about that person you know who has no family, or a family who is far away. Think about making a new friend who will thank God for you this year.

So as you plan and prepare your Thanksgiving, think about adding a place setting or two. God will grace your table with gratitude. And come this Sunday when Jim Moriarty’s special Thanksgiving music puts us all in the joyful mood to be “Grateful Even In The Darkness.” - Pastor Pat Kriss