Alone at Thanksgiving

In the years since Covid started, I no longer travel a long distance to spend Thanksgiving with my nieces.  I have no nearby relatives, so on Thanksgiving (and Christmas and Easter) I make dinner for myself (with lots of leftovers).  I usually make plates for the nearby 7-11 employees who must work holidays.  Many friends have invited me to share the holiday with their family gatherings, but I feel as someone interrupting their time together.  I don’t want to do that, so I eat alone those days.
 

But not this year.
 

Three friends, each of whom has family, will be alone this Thanksgiving.  Their families are traveling to other far-flung relatives, so we will gather, together as friends for Thanksgiving dinner.  In a way, we are the leftovers.
 

In my spiritual readings and prayers of late, I’ve noticed an emphasis on silence, time with God --- personal time, but I’ve also noticed the emphasis on community.  Whether the Trinity, or church, or family, Jesus strongly promotes community, unique close friends who you feel comfortable being with, and praying with --- and making Jesus part of that community.
 

When I was celebrating Thanksgiving alone, I never thought about any others who may be spending that day alone.  While I thought I was being “nice” by not being the “odd egg” at nearby friends’ gatherings, I rarely thought about those who needed my presence --- not just my Thanksgiving donation of food or money to some charity.  They --- and I --- need community.  Jesus said so.
 

So, this Thanksgiving I will be gathering together with friends and giving thanks for God’s many blessings.  We need to be together.  We need to say those words of thanks together.  We need to hear those words said aloud by others.
 

This Christmas I don’t doubt my Thanksgiving dinner friends will be celebrating Christmas Day with family, so I will find some others who would be alone that day.  And together, we will celebrate and give thanks for the biggest event that ever happened in the world.  How could you not want to go out and celebrate it with the world?  Look what God has done for us!
 

We are never alone, and we should not act as if we are.