I have much to be thankful for this year. But as you and I approach Thanksgiving some
of us may not feel or be all that thankful. The Pandemic, murder hornets,
fires, hurricanes divisiveness around everything from racism, masks, police
officers, politics, abortion, immigration, social media, and a long list of
other things going on in the world today is good reason to feel this way. No
matter how you voted or what you believe, this year has probably hit you hard.
Sometimes, when we can’t see an end in sight, we get stuck in that “woe is me”
place. Sometimes, or even often, we start getting into a bad but comfortable
place of isolation. It takes effort and creativity to not stay in that place
and frankly it’s hard at times.
In the beginning of this pandemic I was a trooper with
creative ways to interact with others. But as time went on I got weary of it
all. The summer gave a bit of a reprieve as we could at least hang out with
others outside. But now the cold is coming again and I am dreading what the new
normal is going to look like for the foreseeable future. While some of my
friends and relatives are doing life as usual with few exceptions, I am not. It’s
not that I’m afraid; it’s just I see it differently. So going into Thanksgiving
is just another thing that we had to evaluate and decide what we were going to
do.
Whether your Thanksgiving is going to be with you or several
others, isolation may be a part of it, especially if it’s going to look and be
different than in years past. So what are we to do to keep loneliness at bay
whether this is a new thing or has been a part of our life for some time? Of
course theirs the usual answers to this question like acknowledge it, pray,
stay connected, etc. But what does that really look like? We can all get ideas
off the internet and think of them ourselves too. The trick is doing them.
For me it has been helpful to keep in mind one word. A few years
ago a friend of mine told me how she picked a word each year. Almost everything
was filtered through that word. I took her word and made it my life word. This
year it has been especially helpful. My word is intentional. When I’m not
intentional I can get into that rut of sitting around doing things like binge
watching a show or you fill in the blank. Granted sometimes we need a break. When
I’m intentional I’ll stay on my schedule of reading my Bible, praying, sending
encouraging notes to others, dropping off a small package at friends, calling
them, sending them a package in the mail, sending a text, video chat, or other
things that let them know they aren’t alone. I know it’s one word and you might
be thinking that keeping it at the forefront every day isn’t really going to do
much and maybe it won’t. All I can say is that it has really helped me. It’s
worth a shot at least.
My challenge to you whether you’re not lonely, you’ve been
feeling lonely for years, or if this is a relatively new thing is to be
intentional about letting others know they’re not alone.
