We’ve enjoyed a beautiful fall. This dry September weather has given our farmers opportunity to get crops in, and us non- farmers a chance to enjoy some summer we didn’t get in July and August! My youngest son is currently memorizing “When the Frost is on the Pumpkin”, a poem by James Whitcomb Riley, and my eldest daughter is looking for a copy of “Cranberry Thanksgiving” by Harry Devlin and Wende Devlin to continue our family’s thanksgiving reading tradition as she makes her new home in England.
It’s easy to give thanks when all is going well – until it isn’t. Health, relationships, and finances can all take sudden and unexpected turns that make it difficult for us to give thanks. We can feel like the lyrics of the famous Rolling Stone song, “Paint it Black”, “It’s not easy facing up when your whole world is black”. Setting our feelings aside, we can see an abundance of vibrant colour all around us. Maybe the leaves didn’t get the memo to be glum!
They didn’t have to experience the heart wrenching circumstance that you’re facing. In reality, at some point, all of us will face difficult circumstances. Ironically, the vibrancy of colour we observe in nature, is actually the final stages of a plant’s annual death cycle and entrance into dormancy. That doesn’t sound all that appealing. But rather than be black and hidden, the plant allows a vibrancy and beauty to show forth. It’s not ashamed of this process but actually celebrates it!
I’m not saying to proclaim all your problems to the world, but your circumstances don’t define you. Your seeming abyss isn’t the end, but an opportunity to find new life and colour that will naturally reflect back to those observing your response, taking courage to face their own challenges. Draw strength from your community, absorb the beauty around you, and don’t lose heart!
Happy Thanksgiving
From my family to yours,
Lowell Harder
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