Thanksgiving is here. We’ve spent this last year isolated and apart from family. I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to re-gather.
I’ve missed the re-hashing of family lore, reminding each other of funny stories, and getting caught up on everyone’s lives. I’m eager to see everyone in person instead of face-timing and crowding in on a zoom “meet and greet.”
I agree with John the apostle who wrote in 2 John v.12, “I have much to write to you, but I do not want to use paper and ink. Instead, I hope to visit you and talk with you face to face, so that our joy may be complete.”
At the same time, I’m also dreading the gathering. I do not want to participate in political discussions full of rancor and “other” ideology. I do not want to watch a hurting relative feel lonely, even amongst a crowd of aunties, uncles, and cousins. I do not want to hear again about old family drama that divides and sours. I do not want to be a “fool” like in Proverbs 10:19 who “dies for lack of judgment.”
So, what then?
Are you experiencing this back-and-forth dilemma?
When words are many, offense is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise.