USA (MNN) — Supply chain shortages and inflation lead to expensive Thanksgiving Day dinners in the United States. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, frozen turkey inventories are 24-percent below their three-year average due to the supply chain shortage.
Plus, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports the cost of all food is up five percent from last year, with turkey prices skyrocketing nearly 70-percent since 2019.
“We have new issues, [including] hoping the food gets there for our celebrations. What will we be eating for Thanksgiving? It might be peanut butter and jelly if we can’t find the turkey!” Ron Hutchcraft of Ron Hutchcraft Ministries jokes.
Even if Thanksgiving looks a little different this year, the idea of spending an entire day with family is exciting for some. Others anticipate the holidays with dread. U.S. society is divided on so many issues, Hutchcraft says.
“Things are so polarized and so sensitive; even saying the wrong word can add to the controversy.”
As a believer, you are Christ’s ambassador in every situation – including Thanksgiving dinner. Nonbelievers might assume your personal opinions on an issue reflect the teachings of Jesus. So, how do you navigate potentially-divisive conversations? Hutchcraft gives three tips below.
(Photo by Element5 Digital on Unsplash)
Thanksgiving tips: pray, release, relax
Prayer is the perfect way to approach any issue. Hutchcraft suggests using Paul’s request in Colossians 4:3 and 4: “‘Pray for us that God may open a door for us, that we may declare the mystery of Christ and declare it clearly as we should,’” he quotes.
Next, release your control over the situation. “Sometimes we get so tense about family gatherings and family conversations, and we begin to take it into our own hands,” Hutchcraft says. Let God determine the outcome instead of trying to achieve your objectives, and remember His priorities.
“My real mission, my real assignment, is not to win an argument but to win a heart for Jesus Christ,” Hutchcraft notes.
“Only one issue is going to decide their eternity. And that’s your Jesus.”
Finally, “relax in the sovereignty of God over everything you’ve just released to Him,” Hutchcraft says.
“If you can release the entire conversation and the relationship to His leadership, I think you’re in a much better place.”
Download this free ebook for more tips and real-life examples.
Header image is a representative stock photo courtesy of Preslie Hirsch/Unsplash.
