Devotion: Faith in the Face of Hardship
Please take the time to read Psalm 107:1-22.
It was November 2021. COVID was slowly lumbering away into the night, leaving behind a world that did not yet know how it had changed, how it had been redeemed. People were still hurting from the inside out. With a little bit of trepidation, my husband and I decided to keep our Thanksgiving reservation at our timeshare in New Orleans, where we typically spend that week.
Next to the place we stay is Igor’s, a bar with character and characters. Picture a neighborhood bar. In New Orleans. Open 24/7/365. For over 40 years. It has stories to tell and secrets to keep. It’s dark…the wood on the floors, the walls, the bar, and the barstools. It’s illuminated by a couple of game machines and a few lights that burn with the glow of red lightbulbs, like the exit sign above the door. The seats at the bar always fill up first. There are working washer and dryers in the back next to the pool tables because in NOLA, Monday is wash day. Prior to COVID, on Mondays, it was possible to take your laundry to Igor’s, have a drink and get free red beans and rice. (We’ve done that before but COVID took the free red beans and rice with it when it left.)
The clientele is a cross section of the people who call New Orleans home either permanently or on their way to somewhere else. One bartender told me, “if you walk in here, you’re our people.” It is no doubt true. There is a feeling that if trouble were to break out (and it has), the people sharing the bar with you would have your back. Those who live on the street and those who own businesses on it are all treated with respect. Igor’s takes care of its neighborhood. It’s like Cheers, only better.
On the Tuesday before Thanksgiving we went there for a drink and noticed a small sign on the bar saying to sign up for the Thanksgiving potluck with the bartender. We looked at each other and said, “Why not?” so we did.
Two days later we shared Thanksgiving dinner with about 40 random people, many employees and regulars at Igor’s, but also several Bills fans who were in town for the football game against the Saints. We talked to a woman who had worked at Igor’s for over six years and helped organize the potluck. She said they have done it in the past, but that year was bigger than they imagined. We met a former employee who had worked the 2:00a – 10:00a shift but had moved on to a better job, with better hours. (He brought all of the fixings for spicy pork tacos!) There was a woman wearing a fancy dress who used to live somewhere up north. She said she hated dressing up, but her mom always made her wear a dress on Thanksgiving, so she decided to this year too, even though she couldn’t make it home. There was a couple whose daughter lived above Igor’s. They were in town from Massachusetts but were leaving soon for the Caribbean where their houseboat was waiting for them to sail around the islands. A couple from Buffalo in town for the Bills game had had season tickets for over 20 years. The woman was born in Omaha. Her sister in Lincoln. One woman brought stuffed cabbage using the recipe from her German grandmother.
People wandered in and were told to help themselves – and some did! And thank goodness because there was enough food to feed the entire Garden District! It was spread out all over the pool tables. The bartender, in his best Christmas cat overalls, carved the turkey. We also had ham, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, stuffing and much more – including 16 desserts!
Some people sat outside. Others inside watching the Bears barely beat the Lions. And we were a community. A group of people who by chance and choice showed up at Igor’s for Thanksgiving dinner, shared what we brought and left with so much more.
As Pastor Greg said on Sunday, “God is faithful and God redeems hurt and pain and turns it into thanksgiving.”
COVID took a lot, but like many hardships, it didn’t take everything. And it hasn’t taken everything. God remains faithful. God hears us when we cry out. He delivers us from distress. He finds us in the darkness. He rescues us from our rebellious ways. And He shows up in the most unconventional of Thanksgiving dinners.
May your Thanksgiving reflect all that the first Thanksgiving was, what Thanksgiving is and what Thanksgiving should be no matter who you celebrate it with or where you are.
Good, Gracious and Generous God –
We know You sent Your son to a world plagued by hardships to redeem us all, including the broken pieces, the worst parts, the biggest hurts, and the heaviest pains in each of us.* And for that we give thanks to You, for You are good and Your love endures forever. Amen.
*Words and sentiment taken from Pastor Greg’s sermon.
Written by Dacia Kruse
Dacia lives in Lincoln. She is a lobbyist and mediator through The Mediation Center where she primarily works with parents who are separating and trying to figure out how to co-parent their kids.
She has been a member of Sheridan since the late 1990’s and serves on the Sheridan Church Council. She regularly attends Theology Roundtable and serves on a Saturday evening hospitality team, the Sunday morning Welcome Center team and as a Wedding Coordinator. In her free time, she likes to read, travel, shop and decorate her house.