Roasted turkey garnished with cranberries on a rustic style table decoraded with pumpkins, gourds, asparagus, brussel sprouts, baked vegetables, pie, flowers, and candles.
Roasted turkey garnished with cranberries on a rustic style table decoraded with pumpkins, gourds, asparagus, brussel sprouts, baked vegetables, pie, flowers, and candles.

November 2021 Monthly Letter

Dear Reconcilers,

Our country has been going through one crisis or another ever since the pandemic started. We have all been affected in one way or another. Many of us had family members and friends who became ill and some even died due to the COVID virus. Children were in school, then virtually learning at home, then back in school, then back home. The same thing happened with restaurants and even churches. It was confusing for everyone as we navigated unchartered territory. Fortunately, we all became a little more tech savvy as we familiarized ourselves with online education and mastered the intricacies of Zoom. Zoom kept churches functioning and the rest of us in touch with each other. I guess there is always something to be thankful for.

In a few weeks we will be celebrating Thanksgiving, and this year it looks as if family and friends will be able to come together face-to-face. I’m sure there will be a lot of sharing about how we coped and survived this past year. It truly will be a Thanksgiving filled with joy and happiness. Even in the direst of circumstances, there is always something to be thankful for.

In September, my wife had a Connecting and Bonding Zoom Conference for ministers’ wives.  One of her speakers was Heidi McLaughlin, who shared her personal story and the importance of thankfulness.

In 1994, Heidi’s husband died while playing basketball, a game he loved. It was a hard time for her. She still remembers when the police came to her home and informed her that her husband was dead. Then they asked her to have someone come with her to identify the body.

In 2016, her second husband passed out on the kitchen floor as he went to get a cup of coffee.  She gave him CPR and he lived for five days. For those five days in the waiting room, she kept trying to find scriptures she could hang on to. She thought of Jeremiah 29:12-13, which tells us that God listens to our prayers. Then all that seemed to come to her mind was thankfulness. She learned the following:

  • I Thessalonians 5:18 (NIV) tells us to give thanks in all circumstances for this is God’s will for you in Christ. This includes the times we experience sadness, loss, and grief.
  • Thankfulness is our super power for finding peace and joy in our lives.
  • Thankfulness gives us healthier and happier lives.
  • Thankfulness helps us fall more and more in love with God.

I wanted to share these points with you because it is so important that we don’t just come together once a year to be thankful. Every day should begin and end with thankfulness. Heidi started a thankful journal the day her husband died. She has numbered each entry on what she was thankful for. At the conference, she was up to 7,366 and she is planning to go to 10,000 or more.

As reconcilers, we come in contact with people dealing with many crises. We can help by letting others know the importance of thankfulness and encourage them to find something to be thankful for each and every day—no matter how small. I love this quote: “Kindness can take just a moment, but thankfulness lasts forever.” 

Have a wonderful time with family and friends on Thanksgiving Day, but let’s always remember that every day is a day to be thankful.

We appreciate your financial support and your prayers. Please continue to pray for each other and this ministry. I am thankful for you.

Blessing to you all,

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