โ๐บ๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐, ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐, ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐, ๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐.โ, ๐ญ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ฑ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ท๐๐๐๐๐, โ๐จ ๐ณ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐น๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐: ๐พ๐ ๐น๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ป๐๐๐โ, ๐๐ ๐น๐๐๐๐ ๐บ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ฒ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐น๐๐๐๐ ๐ฑ๐๐๐ ๐น๐๐๐๐๐ (๐๐๐๐)
As Thanksgiving approaches, I find myself spending more time reflecting on the growing number of empty chairs that surround my tableโbeloved family members whose love shaped my life and my faith. I remain deeply grateful for the unconditional love I received from my parents, grandparents, my older brother, and every aunt and uncle who helped form the person I am today.
But as God calls each of those cherished chairs from our youth home to eternity, He also fills our lives with new chairs in the form of new relationships, new blessings, and new people who continue to stretch, heal, challenge, and transform us through every chapter of life.
In my faith community, November is not just a month for celebrating Thanksgiving but also a sacred month of remembrance, set aside to pray for all the faithful departed who now travel the โglory roadโ toward Godโs eternal embrace.
Itโs a season to pause and acknowledge the ache of those empty chairs, trusting that our prayers, our love, and even our tears will accompany them on that final journey toward Godโs heart.
There is a beautiful Jewish prayer that I often use in my Bereavement Ministry work called the “Litany of Remembrance: We Remember Them” and that beautiful line “So long as we live, they too shall live, for they are now a part of us, as we remember them.โ
It captures perfectly the gratitude, longing, and love we will always carry for the chairs that are no longer filled, especially on days like Thanksgiving.
When I pause and look at those empty chairs, each one carries a face I still see clearly; a hand I long to hold again; and a voice I wish I could hear just one more time.
Their absence is real, and yet so is their enduring presence. They remain woven into who I was, who I am, and who I am still becoming in Godโs eyes.
This year, as I gather with my family around our own โtable of plenty,โ I will feel the ache of the empty chairs, but also the joy of the new ones. Both are sacred and reveal something of Godโs unconditional love and the story of a life still unfolding.
So how about for you: 1) who are the “empty chairs” you are remembering this Thanksgiving? and, 2) whose presence continues to shape your life, even in their absence?โ
Wishing you and your families a blessed and grace-filled Thanksgiving.
Dr. K 
