CREEDE HINSHAW: Thanksgiving arrived at the right time

Thanksgiving couldn’t have come at a more appropriate time this year. Our nation hasn’t been in a very good place for a while, an observation that runs much deeper than who was elected president. Had the election favored the Democrats, we would be equally divided. Some of the reactions/demonstrations to Mr. Trump’s election have been ill-advised and counterproductive, and some who have celebrated his election have been impatient with those who can’t get over it.

So, Thanksgiving arrives at just the right moment. I write these words prior to attending an annual interfaith service that has been held for close to 50 years between the Catholics, Methodists and Jews in downtown Macon. At that service, we will not sit in sections designated for Catholic, Jew and Methodist. We certainly won’t sit in red or blue sections of the synagogue. We will intermingle, sing songs together, pray together, worship together and then eat and laugh together.

The things we Americans share in common are far greater than the things that divide us. The God who brought that first Pilgrim band through incredible travail and danger can bring us through our current divisiveness, too.

So here we are – all Americans – only three weeks from a bitter, ugly election, preparing to collectively sit down together, carve a bird and give thanks to God, who can lead the way if we will follow faithfully and obediently. The truth is that Republicans and Democrats have equal opportunities to mess things up and equal opportunities to make our nation better. We are citizens of this country, but we trust God rather than any political association, president or legislature.

When I go to the grocery, play racquetball at the health club, worship in church, chat with my neighbors and fill my tank with gas, I don’t think in terms of Republican or Democrat. I think about people whose lives matter.

The candidate I voted for lost. I’ll continue to advocate for the issues I think are important in spite of the results. But I’ll do so knowing that Donald Trump will soon be my president, legally and fairly. I believe most Americans are red, white and blue people who want to get along with each other and can do so if given the opportunity.

We’ve spent a long time dredging up untruths about each other’s political parties and candidates. Now it’s Thanksgiving. Can we sit together?

Not everybody is ready to do that yet. I hope we can make room at the table for those who still grieve. As for me, I want to move forward with all my neighbors. So, take time this weekend to offer thanks to God for leading us on our way in the past and for continuing to do so in the present and future. Then politely ask the person next to you to pass the dressing and the sweet potatoes and don’t argue over who gets the dark or the white meat.

Contact Creede Hinshaw, a retired Methodist minister, at [email protected].