A Season of Gratitude
Some of my most fun (and memorable) moments on Sunday morning happen during the Moment with the Children. I never know what to expect and each Sunday a new surprise waits to be uncovered and discovered.
Several weeks ago I challenged the children with this question; “If God gave you the choice to stay in one season for the rest of your life, which season would you choose?” To my surprise most of the children chose Winter! I then posed the same question to the adults and again, to my surprise, the adults chose Fall. I thought Summer would certainly have a larger group of supporters but this simply wasn’t the case.
I have to admit my first choice would be Summer, but Fall is a very close second. As I reflected on this I asked myself “Why is Fall appealing to so many of us?” I think some common answers might be: “The colors are beautiful”, “It’s not too hot and it’s not too cold” and “Pumpkins, Apples and Halloween Candy Corn!”
I think another subtle answer may be implied in the comic strip above, Fall gives us permission to slow down and pay attention.
How often has a maple tree bursting in color ever caused you to stop and marvel? Has the first scent of Fall air ever made you pause and inhale deeply? Have you ever taken a few moments to examine a fallen leaf simply because the color pattern fascinated you? Have the honking geese flying overhead on a Fall evening caused you to look up and witness a sky splashed with colors?
Fall gently whispers to our senses and we cannot help but pause and notice. In general, I try to be grateful for all that God has given me but during the Fall my gratitude thermometer rises several degrees.
Soon we will enter the season of Thanksgiving and Christmas. I hope you will accept God’s invitation (and His permission) to slow down and pay attention.
I hope you will pause to see the blessings you have been given and breathe in deeply with much gratitude.
With a thankful heart for all of you,
Dan
Categories: Pastors Message