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.
Cissy and Liz
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.