The latest challenge floating around Facebook is posting each day--through the month of November--what you are thankful for in your life. This challenge seemed easy enough; although I didn’t see it until November 3, so I had some catching up to do. It wasn’t hard and it doesn’t have to be grand.
In the first few days I was thankful for time with friends, a drive to the coast, and waking up early, coffee in bed, pups sleeping and a stack of holiday catalogs. This morning was different. I thought about Thanksgiving as celebrating the harvest. It reminded me that we often reap what we sow; to everything there is a season, and quickly the seasons change.
Thanksgiving is a time of reflection; a time when friends and family gather and share traditions. My thoughts often wander to folks far away, in distance and heart, and I flat out miss them. I wish for all, a full harvest. In the midst of a holiday, it may be easy to be grateful for 30 days; it’s much harder to pull it off as a way of living.
Thirty days hath September, April, June, and November. All the rest have thirty-one, Excepting February alone, And that has twenty-eight days clear, And twenty-nine in each leap year, days become months and the seasons pass.
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Cissy and Liz
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It took years for me to recognize the gift next to me. Almost three years separating us and different from the start; I didn’t much think of her as a friend growing up. Today, I am grateful for a sister, who has known my best and worse self. In our early 30’s, with both parents having died, we chose to be family and friends. She is proud of me; she is a fierce protector, and cheerleader. We have worked on our sister-bond for 20 years. We began to appreciate our similarities and our differences; live and let live! What made us distant as children is a very faint memory. We choose to celebrate successes and joys, comfort one another during sad times, and offer each other a measure of grace.
What have I discovered? The harvest is ready when you are ready.
