A Thanksgiving Reflection — Slowing Down to See the Goodness

The table is set, the kitchen is warm, little feet are thudding across the floor, and somewhere in the midst of the noise and the lists and the gravy that may or may not thicken in time, there is a moment — a pause — where we remember why today matters.

Thanksgiving invites us into something counter-cultural:
slowness, gratitude, presence, and remembrance.

Not productivity.
Not performance.
Not perfection.

Just being present with what we’ve been given.

We live in a world that moves fast, faster than our nervous systems, our hearts, or our families were designed to handle long-term. We carry responsibility, labor of love, meals to make, lessons to teach, work to do, homes to tend, and bodies that need care we often forget to give. And yet, here comes Thanksgiving, gently whispering:

Pause.
Look around.
This is good.

Not perfect, not spotless, not quiet — but good.

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A Call to Notice the Ordinary

Gratitude doesn’t require grand gestures.

It lives in the everyday:
• warm hands around a mug
• children laughing over pie dough scraps
• the smell of bread pulling from the oven
• candlelight flickering across the table
• a moment of peace after everyone is full

These ordinary things are gifts — often missed, often rushed past — yet they are the very pieces that shape a life of wholeness.

When we learn to see them, we learn to live more slowly, more gently, more present in the life God has given us.

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Gratitude and the Body

As a community that’s learning to steward both soul and body, we know gratitude is not just emotional — it’s physiological.

Studies show that intentional gratitude can:

• lower cortisol and stress hormones
• quiet the nervous system
• support immune function
• improve sleep and digestion
• and even balance blood pressure

Our thoughts can nourish or deplete us — and gratitude is nourishment.

Not because everything is easy, but because God is faithful in all things.
We can give thanks not only for the beauty, but also in the tension, the waiting, the healing, and the hope we hold for tomorrow.

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A Prayer for the Table

As we gather this week — around a feast, around takeout, around little ones or aging loved ones or an empty chair we’re learning to live with — may our hearts be steady and soft.

Lord, teach us to number our days with gratitude.
To receive what You have given and trust what You withhold.
Give rest to our bodies, peace to our minds,
and joy that grows from recognizing Your goodness —
in every season, in every breath, in this very moment. Amen.

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From My Heart to Yours

Thank you for being here — for walking this journey toward wellness and wholeness with us. This community reflects so much beauty, courage, and grace. May your meal be blessed, your nervous system calm, your home filled with warmth, and your heart anchored in peace.

Happy Thanksgiving, friend.
May it be slow, rich with presence, and filled with light. 🕯️🤍