I was driving through southern Indiana earlier this week and I stopped at a gas station to fill up for the rest of the journey. As I was getting ready to get back on the road, I noticed a small farm stand and decided to stop for a few minutes and see what they had. After all, I love this time of year and, unfortunately, we have gone from summer to a cold, wet autumn and the Indian Summer part of our year seems to almost be non-existent. Perhaps we will get lucky and the weather will recover so that we can enjoy at least a little of my favorite season – the fall of the year.
I saw the traditional pumpkins and all kinds and colors of mums. There were some vegetables such as squash and even a few gourds. I remember as a young child how I grew gourds in the backyard and then brought them into the house during the fall harvest. As I recall, I even coated them with a thin layer of shellac so they would retain their color and stay fresh throughout the season.
But my favorite thing to find was Indian Corn. I even tried to grow it one year – without much success. It just seems to me that Indian Corn is the perfect fall decoration. It is symbolic of the corn that was grown by the Pilgrims the first year that they arrived in the “Colonies” and certainly one of the items that is so common in the traditional Horn of Plenty that we traditionally see at Thanksgiving. But this farm stand had some of the largest ears of the colorful corn that I have ever seen. I couldn’t help but buy a number of ears – all sorts of different colors, shapes and sizes. I was immediately transported back to my youth.
I remember sitting in the back yard with Grandpa listening as he spoke to me about the harvest and how the earth was getting ready for its annual time of rest and rejuvenation – of course, all part of God’s plan for refreshment and renewal. And it’s kind of cool that this week has also had a blood moon – a lunar eclipse that occurred early Wednesday morning. Due to the reflection of the earth, the moon had a reddish, coppery color – so appropriate for this time of year. In fact, it was the second, and last, blood moon of the year.
The verse tonight is the famous verse from Ecclesiastes 3:2, “A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted.” As we are at the time of harvest… The hibernation of the earth isn’t far behind… My encouragement this evening is that God has ordered everything in such a way as to go through seasons of life. And that includes each of us. My prayer is that you will embrace and maximize your contribution to God’s creation no matter what season of life you are in. What a grand gift it is to be able to observe God’s grand plan for nature. Have a great day in the Lord, grace and peace…