This week Americans celebrate Thanksgiving. Celebrating a bountiful harvest in the late fall is probably as old as humans began farming. The beginning of our celebration is hidden by the mists of time.
Setting aside all the current arguments and discussions about the roles of the Europeans and Indigenous peoples in the 17th Century, we have been taught since I was a child that it’s a day to pause and give thanks for the many blessings we have.
Americans long ago began observing the holiday as family time. It’s an opportunity to pause and gather the extended family for a big meal and for renewing acquaintances and for telling family stories.
Later it became a good excuse to visit Florida and Disney World, but that’s another story.
This year, not so much gathering. The SARS-CoV-2 virus is spreading like a wildfire in California right now. There are people who thought there was no such thing, and even if so, they’d never catch it who are now suffering with the disease. Hospitals are full. Fear of spreading the virus farther across the family supersedes the will to gather.
We still can pause in the build up to Thanksgiving Day to reflect and be grateful:
- For those of us who have not been infected
- For those who received only a mild dose and have survived
- For those who serve all those who have been infected
- For a peaceful election despite the hype and build-up of media organizations that feed on fear and discontent to hook readers and sell advertising
- For those who care
Faith Venture 
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