I have no idea how you are feeling heading into this Thanksgiving week.

Maybe you feel overjoyed to see family. Maybe you feel extremely anxious. Maybe you are excited to cook and experience a bit of normalcy. Maybe you want to crawl into a hole and hide. Maybe you are incredibly lonely. Maybe you simply want to be alone. Perhaps a mix of many of these things?

Whatever your circumstance, here’s one thing I want you to remember about the food: it’s actually not that big of a deal. Whether you serve the best turkey of your life or a simple vegetable soup, what people really need (now maybe more than ever) is to know that they are seen and loved.

And so, whether you are serving up a feast to those you love or a virtual hug to those you miss dearly, I pray you would feel ease around the food part of it. A lightness in an an otherwise very heavy year.

Don’t let the cooking distract you from the faces that are likely more in need of human connection than ever before. Pick up the phone and call those you won’t be seeing this year. Send the card. FaceTime the lonely.

Just remember, at the end of the day, it really has very little to do with the food ❤️