This Thanksgiving I have no doubt that many people will find it very difficult to think of anything to be thankful for and we really can’t blame them. We all know it has been a horrendous year.
If we listed all the terrible things that have happened, and all the things we missed out on, and the things we did not get to enjoy, the list of things that we aren’t thankful for would be pretty long.
But that got me to wondering if, when things get back to normal, hopefully, sooner than later because I am ready, will we appreciate, and be grateful for, everything that we still have?
Will we be thankful for the people that we still have with us, or that have survived the Virus? Will we be thankful for the restaurants and stores that did not close? Will we be thankful for still having a job or for getting a new job or for being loved and supported by friends and family while we are still waiting for employment?
Will we be thankful for still having food on our tables or for having the ability to help those who do not? Will we be thankful for the sacrifice of healthcare workers and 1st responders? Will we be thankful for being spared the worst of one of the worst hurricane seasons?
Will we be thankful that often misused, technology is allowing us to keep in touch with one another, to educate our children, to fight depression and loneliness, to monitor our health, to be cheered up by silly and heart-warming videos, to order our groceries, and to be able to live stream and watch the Mass?
Will we be thankful that Masks and Social-Distancing are, with restrictions, allowing us to actually live our lives instead of being totally on lockdown in isolation?
You can probably tell that I am one of those “glass-half-full” kind of guys. When I was in the Seminary they asked us to continually look for those things that affirmed, and confirmed, that we were being called to the priesthood.
Well, since those little signs were almost always something wonderful and positive, it helped me begin to see all the graces and blessings that are out there that we often overlook or that all the difficulties and struggles can sometimes overshadow.
This year, above any other year that I can ever remember, is a year that seems to call for us to look, even more earnestly, for those little signs and blessings, that are all around us, even now.
That, along with our Faith, and our relationship with God, will keep us strong, allow us to persevere, and help us to show our gratitude to our friends, our family, our brothers and sisters in the Lord, our coworkers, all those who help us, and our heavenly Father too.
It is difficult to find the words “Thank you”, right now, but if we can remember how good it makes us feel when someone says “thank you” to us then, perhaps, we will understand how important it is to say, “Thank you” to others, now more than ever before.