Hope for the Lonely on Thanksgiving (and Other Holiday

If the table reminds you

of who isn’t there

And the silence exposes

the things you don’t share

If the posts twist the sharp knife

that lives in your soul

If the holiday points to

that big gaping hole

If the longings and losses

Pound loud like a drum

Lean closer and I’ll tell you

of all that will come:

Of the table He’s made by

the wood off a cross

Of the family around it

made whole by His loss

One day our tears, grief, and pain

Like butter will melt

One day there is only gain

All horror unfelt

Because He redeemed it all,

Each wound of the heart

He was pierced to make us whole,

Never more apart

Together is the ending

Of this big story

All the zigs and zags will be

All for His glory

Today it’s okay to cry

And to grieve what’s not

But as you weep my dear friend

Cling to this true thought:

Christ has come, He will return,

He sits by your side

He understands how you yearn

He knows how you’ve cried

You may feel alone today

But He is with you

And He has promised one day

To make it all new

Telling Kids the True Story of Thanksgiving (And the True Gospel)

Telling Kids the True Story of Thanksgiving (And the True Gospel)

As I consider how I’ve been taught and how to teach my children, history clashes loudly with the familiar narratives. It’s tempting for us to force-feed redemption into the stories we tell rather than tell stories as they actually are. However, when we strong-arm redemption, we can short-circuit the powerful experience of longing for a Redeemer—and I don’t want my kids to miss that.

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