{"id":1689,"date":"2020-11-18T19:39:18","date_gmt":"2020-11-18T19:39:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/safeplacewithruthgraham\/?p=1689"},"modified":"2020-11-18T19:39:18","modified_gmt":"2020-11-18T19:39:18","slug":"cancel-thanksgiving","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/safeplacewithruthgraham\/2020\/11\/cancel-thanksgiving.html","title":{"rendered":"Cancel Thanksgiving?!"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Apparently, from what I am hearing on the news there is an effort to &#8220;cancel Thanksgiving&#8221;. I am not sure it is intended to be such but the consequences feel like it. We are told to restrict our gatherings to a bare minimum. In one state it is limited to six people, in another it is limited to 3 different households, in another it is telling the older generation to stay away.  <\/p>\n<p>I know it is to be cautious concerning the spread of COVID 19. And we must be cautious, careful. Hopefully we will all use wisdom as we try to make connections this season. <\/p>\n<p>No matter what, Thanksgiving cannot be cancelled. The historical facts are there. The Pilgrims and the Native American Indians did sit down and feast and give thanks to God for a good harvest. They had the right idea: Thanksgiving to a good God. And in our hearts we are grateful for all that God has done for us as a nation.<\/p>\n<p>Oh, I know there are deep, deep troubles and divides. But we have so much. For now, we have the freedom to express ourselves without the threat of censor; we can defend ourselves from attack; we can worship the God of our choice&#8230;We are the envy of the world. The city on the hill. At our harbor stands a statue which has welcomed countless thousands who want to come legally and still beckons others.<\/p>\n<p>We have food to eat. We have wonderful highways that connect us. We have a health care system superior to any other in the world. Yes. It is flawed but we are working to make it better for all. We can heat our homes and choose our schools. We have shops full of wares and money with which to buy &#8211; or order from Amazon! We can even be thankful for Amazon! I know I am.<\/p>\n<p>But even without any of that, we have much to be thankful for. Life. Liberty and the Pursuit of happiness. But even more than that. We have a God who created us and loves us desperately. Loves us so much that He sent His only Son to dies for us so that we might spend eternity with Him. Now that is something to be thankful for &#8211; to rejoice over.<\/p>\n<p>Cancel Thanksgiving? I don&#8217;t think so. There are countless people who celebrate it inter hearts everyday.<\/p>\n<p>Happy Thanksgiving!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Apparently, from what I am hearing on the news there is an effort to &#8220;cancel Thanksgiving&#8221;. I am not sure it is intended to be such but the consequences feel like it. We are told to restrict our gatherings to a bare minimum. In one state it is limited to six people, in another it&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":466,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[516,187,144,13,12,114],"class_list":["post-1689","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-corona-virus","tag-freedom","tag-friends","tag-grateful","tag-thankful","tag-thanksgiving"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Cancel Thanksgiving?! - Safe Place with Ruth Graham<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, nofollow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Cancel Thanksgiving?! - Safe Place with Ruth Graham\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Apparently, from what I am hearing on the news there is an effort to &#8220;cancel Thanksgiving&#8221;. I am not sure it is intended to be such but the consequences feel like it. We are told to restrict our gatherings to a bare minimum. In one state it is limited to six people, in another it&hellip;\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/safeplacewithruthgraham\/2020\/11\/cancel-thanksgiving.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Safe Place with Ruth Graham\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-11-18T19:39:18+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Ruth Graham\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Cancel Thanksgiving?! - Safe Place with Ruth Graham","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"nofollow"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Cancel Thanksgiving?! - Safe Place with Ruth Graham","og_description":"Apparently, from what I am hearing on the news there is an effort to &#8220;cancel Thanksgiving&#8221;. I am not sure it is intended to be such but the consequences feel like it. 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No stranger to heartache, she seeks to provide a Biblical perspective to her journey of faith. She is warm and talks openly about her own need for a safe place as she journeyed through her husband\u2019s infidelities, her subsequent depression, her divorces, her teenage daughter\u2019s two unplanned pregnancies, another daughter\u2019s bulimia, her son\u2019s battle with drugs, grandson's special needs and returning to school at age 40. Although born into the \"famous\" Graham family Ruth did not feel she had a safe place to unburden the secrets of her life. She felt she had to project and image and wear a mask that she \"had it all together\". She had to meet others' expectations of her. It was not until a mid-life crisis did that she fully discover the unconditional love and grace of God. Her life's passion is to connect people to that same grace and love she found, no matter who they are or what sin. Ruth is an experienced conference speaker and Bible teacher. She has appeared on a variety of radio and television shows including: Good Morning, America, The Hour of Power, Focus on the Family, Moody Broadcasting, Fox &amp; Friends, CBN, Life Today and CNN. She has worked in publishing for over 14 years and is the founder of the Ruth Graham &amp; Friends Ministry. Ruth has three grown children and nine grandchildren. She lives in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. 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