Thanksgiving and Trouble Collide Around the World–What Will You Do?
Thanksgiving and trouble collide around the world. What Will You Do? An earthquake with a powerful magnitude of 7.2 hit near the border of Iran and Iraq. It killed more than 140 people and in Iran alone injured 860.
What will you do to comfort those left behind? What will you do to comfort the injured?
Although those countries don’t celebrate Thanksgiving as we do in the United States, they may have family and friends in the US who do. How will you comfort those family members and friends?
Death and destruction continue around us. What happens next? What can we do?
Thanksgiving and trouble collide at Michigan State University (MSU). As MSU continues its investigation of allegations of sexual misconduct against Dr. Larry Nassar, who was the team doctor for USA Gymnastics from 1996-2015, the university fired Nassar.
Since the allegation of sexual misconduct against him in 2014 by a graduate of MSU, two more gymnasts recently accused Dr. Larry Nassar of molesting them. An undisclosed number of other women made complaints against Nassar.
What will you do to comfort the victims of sexual misconduct, if not in Michigan, elsewhere?
For the families and friends in the USA of those killed or injured in the earthquake and for the women, who made allegations of sexual misconduct against Larry Nassar, and their families and friends, Thanksgiving may not be on their mind.
When Thanksgiving and trouble collide, those family members and friends may wonder how they can handle the collision. They are not thankful for the earthquake, nor are the young women and their families thankful for the sexual misconduct.
If your world were turned upside down through destruction, loss, or sexual misconduct, how thankful would you be? How would you handle Thanksgiving? What would you want from others?
As you attempt to minister to those affected by the earthquake, sexual misconduct, or some other challenge, remember how you answered the three questions above. This is not the time to preach to them, to jam Scripture down their throat, or to give unsolicited advice.
What will you do to comfort them?
For specific help in ministering to the grieving, you may want to buy a copy of my latest book, Moving from Broken to Beautiful® through Grief, at http://bit.ly/brokenbeautiful
Copyright © by Yvonne Ortega XI.XIII.MMXVII Updated I.IV.MMXVIII
