…to those wishing a baby was at your table
or a spouse by your side
or a lost child back in their seat

…to the Moms & Dads whose babies are big but have struggles of their own which keep them away& the siblings who are always on the verge of tears & the grandparents who question WHY

…to the families in the midst of brokenness
whose children are victims of someone else’s choices whose table doesn’t look how you always pictured

…to our friends who are experiencing homelessness who may spend their first Thanksgiving outside who never dreamed it would be like this

…to those suffering from depression
who don’t even want to move from your bed
and getting to your family’s house feels like a chore

…to the widows and the widowers
who thought maybe this day would come
but not this soon

…to the people who will spend today with their stomachs inside out
Not because of any meal
But because of your situation

…to those with the incredibly scary diagnoses
who don’t want anyone else to worry
but who will live today in pain & fear

…to the motherless, the fatherless, the childless, the partnerless, the powerless, the helpless, the broken, the hurting, the criers, the lump-in-your-throaters, and the fakers:

He sees it.

Hagar was a young Egyptian servant girl who also faced some big challenges like many of us.

In the Old Testament book of Genesis, chapter 16, her story leaps off of the page.

When faced with difficult circumstances, she didn’t stay – she ran away.

And when she found herself seemingly alone in the desert, God sought her out and called her BY NAME. Genesis 16:3 says, “She gave this name to the Lord who spoke to her: ‘You are the God who sees me,’ for she said, ‘I have now seen the One who sees me.’”

The same is true for us.

He sees your broken heart
Your childless table
The lump in your throat.

He sees your struggle
Your pain
And your need

He sees every detail of your circumstance
He sees your sickness
And your emotion
He sees your real Thanksgiving, today.

Your name is not broken
Your name is not your illness
Your name is not hurt
Your name is not addict
Your name is not childless
Your name is not homeless
Your name is not faker
Your name is not lonely

Your name is SEEN.
I, for one, am thankful for THAT.

~Megan Faulker
Youth Director, NJ