Not A Happy Thanksgiving

 My heart is grieved today as tens of millions of Americans celebrate Thanksgiving. I know that probably sounds odd. I know in my soul it is not a happy day for everyone. There are many who will struggle through this day for a multitude of reasons. Reasons that others may be oblivious to even recognize. 

There are those who are not happy today because they are alone. On a day when families gather together, love is shared, laughter fills the room, and joyous embraces are numerous, some will go through this whole day alone. Nobody will sit with them at the table. They will not get a phone call. No knock on the door. No invitation to join others. They will sit in silence and solitude drowned out only by the noise of a television. They grieve the loss of loved ones. Some taken by the icy grip of death. Others by heart wrenching divorces. Some by fractured relationships that never healed over time and grudges mixed with stubborn prideful hearts refuse to bend to reconcile. Some sit alone because they had the misfortune of outliving every person who knew them. 

There are many who will have an unhappy Thanksgiving because they live in poverty. They are homeless. They have insufficient funds for a traditional holiday feast. Some of these people are too proud to accept charity. They will scrounge through trash cans hoping to get enough food to survive. So they will suffer through this day in lack instead of in plenty. They will go through the entire day with hunger pangs gnawing at their stomach. They will sleep in bitter cold fighting in vain to stay warm. The cold will go deep into the bones. They will shiver and their teeth will chatter while millions sit in comfortable houses with fires in the fireplaces and warm clothing. 

There are parents who mourn the whereabouts of prodigal children. There will be an empty place at the table this year reserved for that child who lives in rebellion. These parents will try to put on a happy face for the rest of the family, but deep inside they ache in their soul that the whole family is not together. They will force themselves through a meal with little appetite. They would trade all the food in the world for the restoration of their prodigal child. 

Families will gather today with an empty chair at the table because of the recent loss of a loved one. The grief is still unbearable. Tears still flow. The memories of a mother, father, grandparent or child gone forever on this side of eternity is almost unbearable and crushing. Holidays will never be the same without them. Brenda and her sisters are living through this with the death of their mother back in April. It's hard to believe that she is gone. She was the last living parent for all of us. 

I'm reminded that it's not always a Happy Thanksgiving. My soul grieves for each of these. It makes me pause and recall that I have it so much better. I also lift up a prayer for those who are not having a happy day. Only God can help.