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By Dunford Cole

Pastor of Camp Ground / Rutledge Methodist Church

May the Grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Love of God, and the Fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you and remain with you. As the Thanksgiving season approaches and we prepare to celebrate with family and friends, we have so much to be grateful for. In all circumstances, we need to thank God for his love and grace although we all experience and go through hardships. At times it seems difficult to be thankful. The hardest times come when we least expect them – sickness, death, the loss of a job, yet even with all of that ask yourself what am I truly thankful for this holiday season? I lost my mother and father fifteen days apart this year. My father lived with my wife and me for the last two years of his life and over that time we got very close. This year I will not have him around during the holiday season and that has been so heartbreaking to think about. I find myself looking at his photo in our living room and thanking God, that I had the opportunity to have him here with us and to make memories that I will cherish for the rest of my life.

   I encourage you to take a moment and think! Think about who will be around your table – the smiles, the laughter, the conversations – the opportunity to make memories. Also, remember those who are not around your table this year. The people who have gone on to the church triumphant, the people who made us smile, the ones who took care of us. Although I am a pastor, I need to be reminded and to give thanks for what God has done and is doing in my life. We all need a reminder that puts everything into perspective. It is not just the big things, but those small moments that we should be thankful for – those conversations that take place with you and your loved ones no matter your circumstances, we have so much to be grateful for this Thanksgiving. Please make the most of every moment this season because we never know who may not be around the table the next Thanksgiving season. Let us gather together in prayer and be grateful, make memories, and give thanks!

From all of us at Camp Ground and Rutledge Global Methodist Church have a happy and blessed Thanksgiving.