A Letter to Catholic Singles at Thanksgiving

Hello there! Hi, friend.

I hope you are enjoying a beautiful Thanksgiving holiday with family and friends. Maybe you ran a Turkey Trot race in your community or watched the football game with cheers and jeers. I hope you had equal fills of both turkey and pumpkin pie. I do not know about you, but Thanksgiving is actually my favorite holiday of the year. I love it because right as the cusp of the holiday season begins, we are invited to reflect with grateful hearts for all we have and the current place our life finds us.

Now, if you are like me and on CatholicMatch, you are here to date and find your spouse. Sometimes being single around the holidays can feel lonely or frustrating. Yet for whatever reason, the circumstances of life have not led you to find that man or woman with whom you want to spend your life.

How can this holiday be a blessing to you as a single person, especially if you do have the desire to marry and share your life with someone?

Thankfulness begets gratitude, and gratitude expands our hearts in more ways than we realize.

My maternal grandmother often reminded me growing up that there is always something to be grateful for. Even when we do not know or feel it, there is always something we can find to appreciate and be grateful for. The more we practice gratitude and practice thankfulness as a way of daily living, our hearts expand to see all the beautiful little things around us, that we sometimes miss.

So, friend, I ask you, where can you be grateful in your “right now” life? What are the hidden, little blessings you sometimes all too easily forget? Where can you be more thankful in your life, even if every detail is not as you desire?

Your life is good, beautiful, and important…with or without that special someone.

You have a mission to fulfill that only you can complete. You are irreplaceable in this world. You have so much to give and share with others. Moreover, there are many parts of your life that are full and rich, even if you do not have someone to share it with.

God calls us to be grateful, but especially, more so when we do not feel like it; or when life is is less than our ideal.

As we celebrate this Thanksgiving holiday, I gently challenge you to consider how you grow in gratitude and thankfulness for your “right now” life. There is always something to be grateful for. If we begin to name and reflect upon on those things, God will open our eyes even more to see!

I pray you experience much peace and joy…and gratitude this Thanksgiving holiday!

Love and Prayers,

Patty