by Diane Cretin
This Thanksgiving may look very different for you. Many family and friends are not gathering because of the corona virus. For those who are, they have hopefully made modifications to stay safe. People are saddened to not see family or friends. Many are just plain tired of keeping up safety protocols. However, I urge you to do so.
Being separated from those you care about is hard. Since you cannot change that, you might want to focus on what you can do. If you live with at least one other person, you could play a game of cards or a board game or go on a walk together. If you are not very mobile, you could sit on a chair outside in the afternoon once it gets warmer and soak up some vitamin D. Being outside on a sunny day always improves my mood. If you garden and have not cleaned up your summer garden yet, you might find a few treasures still to harvest. You could also get your vitamin D while you clean up your garden or flower areas.
Do you like to cook or bake? You could cook a meal or bake some goodies and leave the food on someone’s porch. That might seem like too much to do because of your own Thanksgiving cooking, but most of us will have leftovers. Do you know someone who lives alone? You could take them a care package of leftovers and leave it at their door. Then call or text them so they take it inside.
If you have kids or simply like to do crafts yourself, this can be a great time to make Christmas ornaments or Christmas cards. There are so many options. They can be made simply with paper and crayons or fancier with other supplies. Olivia and I like to make clay ornaments using cookie cutters. You just have to remember to poke a hole with a toothpick near the top right after you get the ornament out of the cookie cutter so it dries with a place to put the string. Olivia recently decided that she is making red and green paper chains to hang around our house. We think we will put them on our mantel.
If you are still in a less than desirable mood, how about telling yourself you have to make a list of 30 things you are grateful for. A Facebook friend of mine was asking people to post their list about two weeks ago because everyone's posts seemed to be about the election and gratitude seemed to be lacking. Here is my list.
1. My current family
2. My birth family – I was fortunate to grow up with wonderful parents and siblings
3. Like-minded friends who remind me that rational thinking and polite communication still exist
4. Our church family
5. My dogs – what a good example of unconditional love
6. My house/shelter
7. Being able to afford heat for my house
8. Clean water to drink
9. Warm water to take a shower in and use to do dishes
10. My car, which allows me to grocery shop and drive to work when needed
11. Still being employed
12. My garden spaces
13. Nice neighbors
14. My health
15. Plenty of clothes to wear
16. Shoes without holes
17. Enough food not to be hungry
18. Indoor plumbing
19. Living in a physically beautiful area that does not stay too cold
20. God, who loves me unconditionally and shows me grace and forgiveness
21. Having a Bible to read to encourage me to live in a manner that is pleasing to God
22. Books to engage my mind
23. Music to keep me sane and improve my mood
24. Changing seasons – I went for a drive on Sunday and saw some gorgeous leaves
25. Living close enough to the ocean to visit it regularly if I choose to do so
26. Having the right to vote
27. Essential oils, supplements, and other plant based products to keep my immune system strong
28. Social media for helping me to easily stay in touch with far away friends
29. Things that randomly amaze me, mostly in nature
30. Adventures yet to come
At this time of year as the weather gets colder, I think about what it would be like to be homeless. I truly cannot imagine what a life of homelessness is like. However, thinking about it does make me appreciate things I took for granted as a child.
It was about a month ago that I learned there are still many people living without indoor plumbing in the United States. This includes in San Francisco and New York City as well as places like the Navajo Nation. I was truthfully shocked. We have a lot of work to do in this country to make living conditions for people more equitable when it comes to basic necessities.
I encourage you to actually take some quiet time and make your own list. It does not have to be a list of 30 items but I bet you can think of more than 10 things. Maybe your list will be much longer than mine. Whatever the length of your list, I hope it causes you to feel more peaceful and thankful about the status of your life. If you are feeling isolated or lonely, I encourage you to reach out to our Caring Ministries Director Colleen Soldate. Your church family deeply cares about you.
I leave you with this final thought.
Continued blessings,
Diane