The summer has left us until next year. The garden is full of old vines. The shadow of what was. The long hot mornings spent gathering vegetables or working the garden are over. The late afternoon walks down the hill to admire the garden is now an inventory of which rows to plow under first. The fall garden of turnips, kale, cabbage, collards, and other fall vegetables keep hope alive that the garden will continue to produce.

For me, the vegetables are so beautiful in the canning jars. Tomatoes, green beans, spaghetti sauce, vegetable soup, all saved for the winter ahead. Sometimes I will leave the jars out a few days because Baxter just wants to look at them a little longer before they are packed into boxes and taken to the storage room.

And the freezer, now full of corn, peas, October beans, limas, peas…Sometimes I just have to tarry just a moment to count the rich blessing of provision. Some years are better than others. Some years we fight too much rain or too much hot sun or bugs or deer. But somehow, there is almost always a crop to harvest.

The season of Thanksgiving is a time I look back over the year. Reminding myself that no matter how difficult circumstances have been or how devastating some loss can be… our Father remains faithful in all things. He has provided food, shelter, and His very Self. I’m confident that He will continue to do the same. 

There is a sense of satisfaction knowing that faithful tending of the garden has filled the storage room and the freezer with food. My heart knows that the Father is the One who provided the bounty. I just tended to the gifts He gave. So I give THANKS. Thanks for the grace and kindness given. Thanks for the health to work. Thanks for His Presence.

So now I can watch the leaves turn to beautiful colors of red, yellow, and orange. I see the leaves drop to the ground as the trees disrobe to sleep through winter. The land will sleep too. Dead plants, compost scattered over the garden, and the dirt turned under. Sleeping till spring.

Thank You Father for your very Self.

Thank You Father for your steadfast love, your mercy, and your forgiveness in Christ Jesus.

Thank You Father for your Presence.

Thank You Father for the seasons.

Thank You for this garden. My classroom.

Thank You. Thank You. Thank You