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An Unprecedented Thanksgiving

From Boundless by Focus on the Family
This has been a good year for memes.

Drawing on the unpredictable news headlines of 2020, sarcastic and creative memes seemed to spread faster than the news that prompted them. We circulated memes about quarantines, the election, superstorms, murder hornets, and, of course, COVID-19.
Just before we set our clocks back to end Daylight Savings a couple weeks ago, several of my social media friends posted a meme asking if we really wanted to add another hour to this year. Wouldn’t it be better to hurry ourselves along to 2021?

I get that it was just a meme, and it was funny. But behind the joke ran an undercurrent of frustration reflecting how many people feel this was a wasted year. A year to forget.

This has been a tough year, yes. But despite the ups, downs and crazies, I have learned a lot — and I know I’m not the only one.

Something to be thankful for

“I refuse to wish us into 2021,” another Facebook friend shared, referencing her kids’ growth this year and the family’s new addition born a few months ago. “This year has been all kinds of hard,” she acknowledged. “And it’s been good.”

This spring and summer I virtually attended a weekly book study in Illinois, a family reunion in Texas, and a kids’ storytime with a missionary family in Mexico — all from my home in Kansas. None of these events would have been accessible to me before 2020 and the explosion of digital opportunities.

Like many others who experienced state lockdowns and closures, I had a chance to step back and reevaluate my typical schedule when my calendar was suddenly wiped clean. Weeks spent at a more relaxed pace reminded many of us that some of our hustling and bustling isn’t even necessary — or healthy — and we took the opportunity to set new weekly routines.

We can all find something to be thankful for even in these strange times, especially with Thanksgiving coming next week. But it’s not about coming up with some good things to outweigh the bad. Our gratitude can be deeper than that.
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