Fall has turned pleasantly warm and accommodating for this Tuesday. It is Aaron’s Birthday. I asked MJ if she remembers what she was doing 40 years ago today…and she responded that her and my experience on that day… were quite different. It was an unusually warm November 16th…much like today. Autumn brings me a Horn Of Plenty…of memories. The other day I was driving through a neighboring town, Carterville, and admiring all of the fall decorations and the posters for the local football team and our wonderful junior college…John A. Logan. I remembered how I similarly felt when I drove the selfsame road…20 years ago. For a moment I bemoaned the fact that I was not only 20 years older…but now I am…old… But…then the wonderful thought occurred to me…I am still in the game of life and I can appreciate the wonderfully decorated road as much as I did so many years ago.

Tomorrow will be the day that we start to enjoy life and stop to smell the roses and take time to feel our connection with our brothers and sisters…and our home…the earth. Tomorrow we will settle our minds and spirits and souls down to a peaceful pleasure of the satisfaction of being a creation of God and all of his bounties that he provides for us. Today is the tomorrow that we planned on yesterday. Each day is special. Each day is a miracle. Each stage of our lives is a special and unique experience that can not be achieved until we are ready for what it has to offer.

A difficult relationship is challenging. Life does not provide easy answers. When we have been wronged by someone…it is hard to forgive and forget…and most likely the forgiving portion may occur…but the forgetting…not so much… As much as I am capable of…I have practiced Practical Christianity…for over 50 years. I receive few revelations…in fact, I do not remember the last one. Jesus does not whisper my next move in my ear. When I arise in the morning…there is no tingle up my spine…but rather an arthritic walk to the restroom… When multiple appealing choices present themselves to me…I have a ‘think…’ for some time…before I settle on the right one for me. I have been the recipient of many criticisms and some praise…and both seemed to me to be a balanced assessment of my humanity.

Peace is an elusive creature. It alights like a dove on our shoulder…and when we look around to welcome it…she has already flown away… We want to love everyone…that is what Christ told us to do…but everyone is not loveable. We desire to care for others…but some eschew our care and concern… We want all to love us…but we are not, ‘Everyone’s Cup Of Tea.’

So…the Holidays are upon us. At times we may smile a smile of courage…while we weep inside.