Then others say, “I don’t think it is the wise thing to do.”
During a season of thankfulness, the family is further divided out of caution rather than disagreement. I don’t like it, but that is what we must contend with these days.
Can we be thankful during a pandemic?
I’m sure a quarter of a million people will have a hard time being thankful when they have lost a loved one to death because of this virus. I understand that at any one time 75,000 people are hospitalized nationwide as a result of COVID. Thanksgiving from a hospital bed or an ICU room will be almost impossible. How about all those doctors, nurses, first responders and essential healthcare workers who are bone tired and fearful for their own health. They may have a hard time finding thanksgiving in their hearts. Maybe I can be thankful for them. Listen to what God’s word says, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your request be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7)
Does the “EVERYTHING” in this verse include a pandemic?
Absolutely! We can be thankful in spite of sickness, economic downturns or even isolation and fear that accompanies the present crisis.
Robbie and I have decided that we will have thanksgiving in our family no matter what the children decide to do. We are going to cook the turkey and make the dressing along with the wonderful side dishes Robbie prepares from family recipes that have been passed along to us over the years from our parents and grandparents. If need be, I will dish up the food, take it to the kids and leave it on their front doorstep. We can have a family “ZOOM” thanksgiving gathering to share with each other the blessings we have received from the Lord. I can read thanksgiving prayers and benedictions from God’s word online. I will compose a thanksgiving prayer and send it to the entire family. Let’s be thankful even though we may not be able to be together. Thanksgiving is a pathway for the peace of God to invade our lives.
We need a double portion of God’s peace, don’t we?
Let’s find ways to be more thankful this season than ever before. Let’s kill the pandemic with thankfulness. Maybe God may use thanksgiving like a 95% effective vaccine. A good shot of thankfulness may be what we all need right now.