A Thoughtful, Thankful Season

Our thoughts turn again to a thoughtful, thankful season, with gratitude for what the good earth has done in providing plenty, and for the goodness of God to whom we owe it all. Life is sustained through the seasons by the growing of the seed, the coming of the flower, and the fruit that follows. For this we are grateful. And since no man can make a seed or control the seasons, humility is a becoming quality. What if even one harvest did not arrive on earth? What if even one season did not follow in sequence? O thank God that He has brought us through another cycle of seasons, with seed to plant, and with the harvest we have. “Gratitude,” said Aesop, “is the sign of noble souls.” And how can there be doubt or cynicism when we have the providence of God, the beauty of the earth, the awareness of our own smallness and the greatness of our opportunities−with infinite truth to search for, and with the great assurances of the harvest season which seems to say, “The fullness of the earth is yours!” “No human counsel hath devised, nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things,” said Abraham Lincoln. “They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy . . . [for which we] should be solemnly, reverently grateful . . . and with humble penitence” thank God for all that He has given.