I don’t know about you, but I cannot believe Thanksgiving is this week. Where did this year go??

While many are planning menus, shopping at the grocery store, and arranging travels, the fact remains that the holiday season is filled with mixed emotions.

For some, this is a reminder of loss. Maybe you lost a loved one who is no longer on this side of eternity or you have been out of a job. Maybe you are grieving a relationship that was severed or your health has been adversely affected.

I’m truly sorry, Friend. Experiencing any one of those things is heart-breaking.

For me, it seems that no matter how many years pass by, I am reminded of the hospital every Thanksgiving. First, there was the time when my aunt had been in a life-altering car accident. Then,  years later, there was the time when my son received a life-altering diagnosis. 

Ugly tears spilled forth during the pain of those events. In all honesty, I was angry. I had questions. I experienced gut-wrenching sorrow. 

Yet, in the midst of that, I always knew one thing for sure: not for one moment did the Lord leave me. He always has been with me and always will be. 

I AM GRATEFUL.

As the lyrics to “Raise a Hallelujah” by Bethel Music state: “I’m gonna sing, in the middle of the storm … Up from the ashes, hope will arise”.

And so every Thanksgiving, my family sings “Great is Thy Faithfulness” by Thomas Chisholm as a testament of such:
“Great is thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see.
All I have needed thy hand hath provided.
Great is thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!”

“Give thanks to the Lord … His faithful love endures forever.” (Psalm 118:1 NLT)

My thoughts and prayers are with you this Thanksgiving. May the peace of God be with you as we give Him thanks for His constant presence.
~Joyce

Photo Credit: Kit Ishimatsu on Unsplash