As you work to support survivors, please bear in mind that the holidays can be a difficult season for a lot of survivors, for a variety of reasons. Thanksgiving is often considered to be an “easier” holiday than Christmas, but if (like me) a survivor didn’t have a healthy family it can bring up sad memories and painful contrasts with apparently happy families.

So this season calls for a little extra patience, support, and prayer. Please, please do not say things like “Well, you still have a lot to be thankful for!” or “The Bible tells us to give thanks!” Both of those statements are true but neither needs to be spoken in reproof.

Instead, here’s a suggestion: you give thanks, in personal prayer, for the survivor. Put in some effort to find specific things about this person that you’re thankful for. Speak those things in prayer and give glory to God for them, instead of focusing on telling God what to fix. Give thanks and be grateful for all evidence of the Lord at work in the survivor’s life. If you look hard enough, you’ll find it.

Photo by Mark Casey on Unsplash.com