Blessings in the Broken Places

I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about this past year—2025—and honestly, it’s hard to wrap my head around it. It’s been one of those years that felt like a long walk through both sunlight and storms.

Every time I thought things were settling down, something else shifted.

We lost friends who meant the world to us. We said goodbye to family members.

And yet, in between the tears and the empty chairs at the table, other faces showed up, new friends, new family, new reasons to keep going. That’s the thing about life, it never leaves a space empty for long.

Even when it hurts, even when we feel like something’s gone from us, something else quietly arrives. And if we’re paying attention, we can see those moments for what they are: grace.

Tender reminders that we’re not walking alone. I’ve watched people I care about face challenges that nearly broke them, and you have too.

Jobs lost, relationships strained, failed health, dreams put on hold because life had other plans. It’s hard to see people we love struggle.

It makes us feel helpless sometimes, standing on the sidelines, wishing we could do something to fix it. But I’ve also seen people rise, really rise.

I’ve seen neighbors prosper, families heal, and folks who were once barely hanging on find their footing again. A tough year, no doubt about it.

Good and bad, joy and heartbreak all mixed into one. But through it all, one truth keeps showing up: if you’re reading this right now, you’ve made it this far.

You woke up today. You’ve got breath in your lungs, strength you might not even realize you have, and a chance, another one, to take a step forward, to push through, to fight the good fight, and persevere even when the path is messy.

And personally, I can’t look at all that and thank anything other than the Almighty. Because some days, it wasn’t my strength that carried me. Maybe you’ve felt that too, the kind of help that shows up exactly when you need it, in ways you didn’t expect.

As we gather around our tables this Thanksgiving, I hope we remember something important: it ain’t really about the dinner. Not the turkey, not the sides, not the perfect setup.

Those are nice, sure, but they’re not the point. The point is the lives we’re living.

It’s the power to lift someone else. The chance to help our neighbors, to show up for our communities, and to be something good in a world that needs all the goodness it can get.

So, from my heart to yours, Happy Thanksgiving. May God bless you, and may God bless America.