Wanted: A Family To Share Thanksgiving With
Posted by Kaley Thompson This wanted ad was posted by a homeless man:
“Wanted: A family to share thanksgiving with. Large 54 y.o. Christian, homeless male is looking for a person, family or couple to share Thanksgiving day with…. I was very very alone last Thanksgiving and really would not like to go through that this Thanksgiving… PLEASE, if you have room in your home and in your heart to share your Thanksgiving, I not only would be thankful, but would also consider myself blessed to spend this time with you.”
Guess what happened? Invitations began to pour in. “…he can hang out for Thanksgiving with my family for a day or two.” “I want to send him a Christmas package.” A fund was even started and people began to donate.
In an interview posted on Good News Network, the homeless man replies to the overflow of love and support. “I cried all day yesterday. I’m a big guy but then the reporters were reading all the letters to me that they’d gotten… People do have big hearts.”
"People do have big hearts."
And this Thanksgiving, let’s show the world how big our hearts really are by carrying out this movement to call each other family no matter our differences. Here are three ways we can continue to answer this wanted ad:
1. Be Thankful. Duh, it's Thanksgiving. But when family time becomes stressful or your casserole gets flipped upside down in the car on the way to dinner, it's hard to say "I'm so grateful for this chaos." But be thankful because the family and the crazy are all gifts. Gifts that someone out there would give anything for.
2. Share Your Story. We all have a story to tell. God is up to something in all of our lives. Thanksgiving is a time that brings families together. When you open up, you’ll find that others will too. Who knows who your second chance story could change.
3. Have Room In Your Home. Create space in your home and heart so that God can fill it with something unexpected. Set an extra place setting just to see who shows up. Will it be the answer to a homeless man’s need? A healing space for a cousin who is hurting? The spot for conversation over a cup of coffee and pumpkin pie that restores relationship to someone who is lonely? Have room.
Now, get out there and find each other because really we’re all seeking someone to share Thanksgiving with.
Kaley Thompson is the chief storyteller at People of the Second Chance. She lives in Charlotte, NC and wears a sparkly motorcycle helmet.