Open your heart and home to someone this Thanksgiving

This Thanksgiving is not only a time to give thanks but to share this time with others who have no one to share this time with.

To all my American friends who are celebrating Thanksgiving, Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours.

In October when Canada celebrated Thanksgiving, our family was getting ready to enjoy our turkey dinner. The aroma of fresh baked turkey filled the air, but something else caught my husband's attention. It was our neighbour who was outside chopping log for his fire place. He had no family present with him.

My husband recalled his time of loneliness when his mom died many years ago just before Christmas and he wish he had Christmas supper with his mom. As he observed how lonely our friend must feel on Thanksgiving, he felt the strong urge to go and invite him over for Thanksgiving supper, which he did.

Our friend and neighbour had a wonderful time and my husband took a picture with him with our huge turkey at centrefold.

Little did we know that that would have been our friend's last Thanksgiving. Two weeks later, our friend suffered a massive heart attack which ended his journey here on earth.

What was it my husband truly saw other than our friend's loneliness? What was it that called out to him or drew his attention from the unseen world that compelled him to make such a decision?

In your celebration open your heart and home to someone this Thanksgiving. It may be the only time you have to share of yourself before they're called home, or it may be last opportunity you may have to bless someone else's life. Look around you, who are you drawn to this Thanksgiving to make a difference in their life? It may be the only moment you have to impact that person and change the direction of their life.