lorious Autumn Days

Meditation Example

Glorious Autumn Days: Sample Meditation

33. Joy of the Harvest

You have put gladness in my heart more than when their grain and wine abound. Psalm 4: 7

When our gardens ripen and we gather in the harvest, we are very glad. We enjoy the fruits of our labors and preserve some of what we have gathered for winter. We make jam, freeze vegetables, can fruit, and dry herbs. Our kitchens look like disaster areas but we are glad and satisfied with the results. We are ready to face another winter.
The psalmist says that the gladness God puts into our hearts is even greater than the gladness we feel at the increase of our harvest. Without food our physical beings cannot survive for long, and without the presence of God our spirits will die or wither.
The awareness of God in our lives makes us glad and we give thanks. Thanking God causes our hearts to be joyful and our souls to be glad. Even in times of hardship we can find something for which to thank the Creator. When we give thanks our hearts begin to live again and we can see through our despair.
There is a familiar saying: There is never an ill wind that doesn’t blow someone some good. I was always fond of quoting this saying in many different circumstances and the truth of this proverb was brought home to me very recently. We had a severe storm with violent winds—some said it was a tornado—it uprooted many trees on our property and snapped even more with huge trunks as if they were dry twigs. This was devastating to experience and the sight of our forest afterwards was one of disaster and great sadness. However, when we harvest the trees, cut them into logs and chop them up, we will have firewood for many years to come from this terrible storm.
I never want to go through such a storm again; but the saying I used to quote so blithely from hearsay I now know, from my own experience, to be true.

• What is it that you have to be thankful for? Think of at least one thing that you can give thanks to God for today. Write it down in your notebook or journal. What spiritual gift do you have to be thankful for? Keep this in your heart and mind, preserve it in your soul and spirit’s memory for winter days.
• God, I give you thanks for the blessings you have given to me throughout my life, and especially, today, I thank you for this one special blessing in my life. Amen.

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