Parakalein

The usual greeting in this season is Happy Thanksgiving.

I cannot say that, this Thanksgiving.  Last Thanksgiving, I heard people saying that and it just angered me.  This was partly because I had a part that was hurt, depressed and anything but thankful.  I am in a better space this year but am more aware than ever that a season of Thanksgiving really can alienate those who are not happy from those who are or who at lest wear the mask of happiness.

In reality I know some people who are not feeling Happy this Thanksgiving:
A father whose son was killed din a car accident in which the father was the driver;
A man whose wife up and left him and won't even talk to him;
A woman who experienced neglect from her mother and sexual abuse by her father that she is dealing with;
A gay couple who are rejected and feel alienated from their church and friends;
A pastor whose son died at 15, is separated from his wife, out of the ministry and recreating a life from the rubble;
A teenager who was sexually abused by her father and exploited as a sex toy for friends,
A mother whose heart ached for her daughter who is trying to put the pieces of her life into a peace place for healing;
A spouse whose partner died suddenly leaving the pain of grief and aloneness:
A mother whose son is struggling with an addiction the threatens the presence of life force
A wife whose husband is having an affair and then beats her blaming her for his behavior;
A brother who stabs his older brother to death in the Netherlands;
An elderly couple who have lost all their retirement funds;
A mother and father whose son was killed in the war in Afghanistan;
A couple whose young child was killed by a drunk driver;
A couple whose marriage is falling apart because of the fear of being loved and the fear of not being loved, yet they deeply care for each other and feel each other's pain and suffering;
A man in such pain and grief that he is planning to kill himself on Thanksgiving Day.

None of these see this Thanksgiving as Happy.  They represent many others like them who enter this season without a "happy part".

I began, due to inner awareness, to  tell people "Have a Good Thanksgiving" or Make it as Good a Thanksgiving as you can.  When God in creative power and compassionate presence takes everything and pours good into that event, it does not make the event good or me happy but it does bring redemptive and radical transformation, and offers to make it good in some small way.

Thankfully God works good into and out of whatever horrible and horrific things happen in our world.
It does not make me happy but it does make my heart feel "good".

"God works all things together for good"  Romans 8:28

Have a good Thanksgiving!

Have a good time of being thankful!  It is all good!
It is good to "give thanks in everything" in fact it is the will of God to do so! (I Thessalonians 5:18)