Thanksgiving is almost here, and everywhere I look the world feels a little softer. People slow down just enough to notice things they usually overlook. Families gather. Old recipes return to kitchen counters. Memories that were quiet all year suddenly step forward as if they have been waiting for this moment. There is something sacred about it, something that goes deeper than food and celebration.
I have always believed that gratitude opens a door. Not a physical one, but a quiet doorway inside us that allows us to see more clearly. When we pause long enough to appreciate the good in our lives, the veil between the seen and unseen becomes thinner. The noise fades. The heart listens. And sometimes, if we are attentive, we notice things we would normally miss.
There is a warmth in a room filled with people who care for each other, even if they show it imperfectly. There is meaning in the laughter that rises after a long year of challenges. And there is a kind of gentle presence in the memories of loved ones who can no longer sit at the table with us. Their absence is felt, but so is their love. It lingers in the traditions they left behind, in the stories we still tell, and in the quiet moments when the room feels just a little fuller than it should.
As a supernatural thriller author, I am always paying attention to that feeling. The sense that the past is near. That love continues even when life changes. That gratitude not only brings peace, but also awakens something in the unseen world. Perhaps it is our way of acknowledging that we are never truly alone, even when a chair sits empty.
Thanksgiving invites us to remember the beauty in our stories. The hard chapters that made us stronger. The joyful ones that carried us through. And the mysterious ones that left us wiser and more open to wonder.
So this week, I encourage you to pause for a moment before the chaos of cooking and conversation begins. Let yourself breathe. Look around your home. Feel the warmth that rises when people gather. Listen to the memories that whisper from quiet corners. There is truth in those moments, and sometimes there is healing too.
May your Thanksgiving be filled with comfort, with meaning, and with the kind of gratitude that touches both the heart and whatever unseen presence walks gently beside you.