This can be a really, really hard time of the year. If your child is unstable, trying to enjoy Thanksgiving and the ensuing holidays can be a nightmare, or at least very disappointing. Caroline is stable this week so I am not worried about her. But my heart goes out to those of you who are in a different situation. We have had Thanksgivings where she was hospitalized or when she was home and life was hard and chaotic. How can one be thankful when everything is crumbling?
I think in those times you have to get down the deepest things, the things that are true regardless of your circumstances: God is still good, He still loves you and your child, He has plans that are bigger and more complex than we can understand right now, and all is not lost because of this illness. Be thankful for the small things: the roof over your head, food on the table, that one friend who hasn't abandoned you, that one family member who "gets" it, the beauty of the fall.
We all screw up, we all say things we shouldn't say and do things we shouldn't do. Sometimes our emotions get the best of us. But we can ask for forgiveness. We can forgive. We can start over. His mercies are new every morning. Lamentations 3:22-23. I think the writer would agree that they are new minute by minute. So stop beating yourself up and start receiving grace.
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