And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful.
—Colossians 3:15
Thanksgiving is one of those seasons that invites us to slow down, breathe deeply, and take stock of what really matters. For many LGBTQ+ Christians, gratitude can be complicated—we know what it feels like to be excluded, misunderstood, or overlooked. And yet we also know the beauty of finding chosen family, affirming community, and sacred spaces where we can finally breathe.
Colossians 3:15 reminds us that peace is not a passive feeling—it is something we allow, something we make room for. “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts.” It’s an invitation to unclench our fists, release the narratives that harmed us, and allow the gentler voice of Christ to guide us. And then, Paul says, “be thankful.” Not thankful instead of honest, or thankful to cover up pain, but thankful because Christ’s peace is already stirring and healing us from within.
Paul expresses a similar spirit of gratitude in 1 Corinthians 1:4–5, where he says, “I give thanks to my God always for you… because in every way you have been enriched in him.” What a powerful reminder that our gifts, our stories, and our existence enrich the body of Christ. We aren’t mistakes. We aren’t outsiders begging to be let in. We are—with all our queerness, our resilience, our creativity, our compassion—part of the richness God has woven into the world.
And then there’s the joyful call of Psalm 95:1–2: “Come, let us sing to the Lord… Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving.” This is not the quiet gratitude we whisper in private moments—this is gratitude that sings, that resonates, that shakes loose the old shame we were taught to carry. It’s a reminder that worship can be joyful and embodied, not timid or apologetic. We come into God’s presence with thanksgiving because we know that presence is safe, loving, and already welcoming us home.
This week, as many gather around tables—or navigate them carefully—we can choose to center gratitude that feels real:
- gratitude for the people who love us as we are
- gratitude for communities that celebrate rather than tolerate
- gratitude for the peace Christ offers when we stop trying to justify our worth
- gratitude for the ways God enriches our lives through connection, resilience, and grace
We don’t pretend everything is perfect. But we do acknowledge that God is present in the imperfect places, working peace into the cracks and creases of our hearts.
May the peace of Christ find space in your spirit this Thanksgiving.
May gratitude rise gently but firmly, like a hymn in the morning light.
And may you know—deeply, unwaveringly—that your life enriches the world and the heart of God.
Joe
The Closet Professor 
November 23rd, 2025 at 6:33 am
Wow what a good-looking bunch, especially the young clean-shaven blonde on the extreme right.
As a matter of curiousity, why are the forks laid on the same side as the knife? Traditionally in Europe and just about everywhere else, the fork is to the left of the plate and the main knife, the butter one and the soup and dessert spoons are to the right, laid so that you start with the outermost cutlery and work inwards.
No special fork for the snails?? I guess snails have not migrated to the USA much:)
If I saw the photo’s layout in a restaurant here, I’d have the manager over personally PDQ to reset the whole table as a lesson to his underlings.
November 23rd, 2025 at 6:48 am
More than likely, these guys were seated and the silverware was rolled in a napkin. Some of the guys put their silverware down in the wrong place when they opened their napkins.
As for a snail fork, that would not be part of a traditional holiday dinner. I’ve had escargot before, and it’s not something I’d likely ever get again. It may not have been prepared well though it was in a nice restaurant in Paris, it was like eating a rubber ball soaked in butter.
November 23rd, 2025 at 10:16 am
Thanks for that. Is rolling up the cutlery in a napkin a traditional US custom? I have never ever heard of that before.
Snails are quite nice with lots of garlic. No worse than “rubbery” calamari.
November 23rd, 2025 at 11:40 am
Restaurant often roll silverware in a napkin. People don’t usually do it at home.
I don’t like calamari either. I’ll eat it, but fried rubber bands are not my favorite appetizer. 😂
November 23rd, 2025 at 6:46 pm
I am more concerned with the hatchet and cell phones on the table. I guess it is a part of dragging in the lumber jack to the dinner table. Cell phones are not allowed at my dinner table. No one is that needful or needs to be connected with other that much. I think it is a messy table. I once had a dish of snails up in the Eiffel Tower. First and last time. I don’t know Joe some of these photo’s read like a bad joke or bad art. One person in the Christian bible I do not like is Paul. I think on the road he was visited by the devil and from there Christianity was perverted. He is highly overrated and really seems to me to be against much of what Jesus taught. His thoughts certainly did a job on us and continue to do so to today.