americamagazine.org
2025-11-28
Despair sometimes seems the most reasonable response to life, especially these days. A partial list of things that might cause even the most devout people to fear for the future include: seemingly intractable divisions in society and the church, a poisonous political climate, the normalization of name-calling and ad hominem attacks, plus more personal crises like financial woes, medical problems and emotional distress. Not to mention widespread climate change, famine and war. I don't need to go on.
In such times, at Thanksgiving it is tempting to throw up one's hands and say, "Thankful for what?" For many people, the prospect of spending time with family over the holidays only intensifies these feelings of dread.