This coming weekend we will celebrate the harvest and spend time expressing gratitude for creation. The trees have already begun to change colour and many have fallen as the earth prepares for winter rest.
This morning as I sat under my tree my thoughts were of the last few months. They have not been easy ones for me. Personally there have been some losses and times of uncertainty that still linger. As a faith community we have also walked through some dark moments and there have been some trying spiritual times. And yet, what I have been feeling this last while is not despair but “deep gratitude”. This comes as I experience the presence of Divine in the beauty and wonder of the creation into whose pattern I am intricately woven. It comes as Divine presence is made real in the outpouring of concern and love from those with whom I share the journey.
Through the Shadows Into Amazing Light
When I returned to the office I opened my book to a piece that I wrote many years ago.
Thanksgiving by Valerie Peyton Kingsbury
Look around and see the many wonders of creation.
The garden – planted and tended; cared for and nurtured
Harvest time – the earth once more begins to fall asleep
The earth is tilled and we make ready for months of hibernation.
The trees have turned colour.
All around we see the brilliance of creation
Making ready to start, once more, the cycle of life.
Look around and you will see signs of hardship and difficulty
Reminders of the suffering that exists and the destruction of creation.
We search for peace.
We see it on the horizon its reality
We crest the summit and there is another mountain to climb
We grow weary.
Give thanksgiving and praise the ancients say
Yet we are tired and sometimes overcome by the journey
A loved one dies; a job disintegrates.
Struggles – to pay the bills, buy food
A dream is lost.
Where is hope? Where is Peace? Why be thankful?
Then a child runs, arms wide open, three small words “I love you”
A community pulls together, supporting and holding
A phone call comes, “Just thinking of you”.
The storm passes.
Those around reveal the beauty of the rainbow
A sign of Divine presence and promise.
You sit alone in the quiet of the night.
Knowing you are by yourself, but not alone
There are others who share the journey
And you are embraced in the heart of love.
Give thanksgiving and praise the ancestors say.
It is right to give thanks and praise.
The trees have turned their colour
All around is the brilliance of creation
Making ready to start once more
The cycle of life.
My prayer for you is that you will indeed be held in the heart of love and know a moment of deep gratitude that will empower you to make it through the shadows into amazing light.
Blessings
Valerie
© 2017 Rev. Valerie Peyton Kingsbury. All rights reserved.