The heavens declare the glory of God.
Psalm 19:1
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‘Joy...in the Morning’
In All Four Seasons, ‘Press On’
By
Dotty Moore
Whether we like it or not, it’s here: the season of
autumn.
With it are certain indicators that have to be reckoned with:
Leaves are beginning to turn colors and commence falling. Sniffles and scratchy throats are becoming more common on the chilly, damp mornings. And it was only last week I wondered why I encountered three spiders in one day, until I remembered that they’re coming indoors out of the cold. That’s not something that makes me happy — neither the cold nor the spiders.
Yes, very definitely, “fall is in the air.”
There’s something else in the air, too. I think it’s a touch of melancholy for the season just ended.
If you’re like me, you’re thinking of all the things you had planned to do this summer but never got around to, and now they’re over: the summer and the opportunities that came and went with it.
It’s too late to plant the petunias that never even got bought. Too late to go on the picnics that never got packed. Too late to go to the beach for fun in the sun.
For those of us who failed to do something memorable in the season just ended, perhaps we’re feeling cheated because that season is now gone.
But wait a minute.
Just because we didn’t accomplish some of the things we had planned for this summer, it doesn’t necessarily mean that we didn’t do anything.
What about the things we did do?
If we take the time to name a few, maybe we’ll surprise ourselves. I think sometimes many of us are guilty of only looking at all the things that are undone instead of at the things that are done.
For instance, how many times do the kids clean their rooms, rearrange posters and maybe even move the furniture around, and yet the first thing we notice and comment on is: “You didn’t get your bed made, did you?”
So let’s take a second look, not only at some of our accomplishments of this past summer, but also at the many things our family members do that go unnoticed or without due praise.
Why not try to focus on all the good things that have been done instead of drawing everyone’s attention to what isn’t done?
Now, I’m not suggesting that we never require anyone to do his best or that we promote
leaving important tasks unfinished. But let’s recondition ourselves to see that someone
polished the living room furniture — and let’s praise that effort — before we hastily
comment about the pair of shoes left in the middle of the floor. Maybe later will
be soon enough to comment on the less-
However, before I wander too far away from the melancholy fall scene, I think our backward glances at any season’s passing need to be balanced with hopeful glimpses into the approaching season.
Therefore, if we discover that very little of any memorable value happened in the season behind us — without wasting too much time lamenting on that perception — let’s resolve right here and now to make sure we create something memorable in the season immediately in front of us.
The Apostle Paul said something similar in regard to being in the race of the Christian life: “… forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13,14, NASB).
Spring, summer, fall or winter. One season is as appropriate as any other to do just that.
From the book ‘Joy...in the Morning’ Favorites, copyright © 2003 Dotty Moore. All rights reserved.
Variation of this column first ran in Press Enterprise, Bloomsburg, PA, September 24, 1988.
Counting Blessing’s
By
Dotty Moore
I knew it was going to be “one of those days” when it started off with the toaster
eating the toast and refusing to cough it up. With breakfast over and the toaster
slammed onto the fix-
The hard part came in the housewares department at the store: Which shower curtain do I buy? Do I get the blue one to match the bathroom walls or the gray one to match the duct tape holding our loose shower tiles in place?
The blue one made the bathroom look and smell new and I was thankful — when I pulled the new curtain the full length of the rod — that I couldn’t see the gray tape on the shower walls.
Being thankful over this simple touch of newness, I was reminded of Thanksgiving Day at our house a couple of years earlier.
We had just finished eating a traditional dinner of turkey with all the trimmings.
We remained at the table to read something from the Bible: the story in John 21:1-
“So Simon Peter went out and dragged the net ashore. By his count there were 153 large fish...” (v. 11, TLB).
We stopped reading and I asked my family a few questions: Why do you suppose Peter counted all those fish? Could this story be suggesting to us that we count our blessings as Peter counted fish? Why don’t we do that? Why not literally list and count some of our blessings?
That’s exactly what we did. Each of us numbered a piece of paper from “1” through “153.”
We began to write down all the things we could think of for which we were thankful: Jesus, the Bible, food, water, friends, ice cream, sunshine, doctors, smiles, trees, houses, cheese, laughter.
It took time to list 153 items. As a matter of fact, we didn’t finish our lists on Thanksgiving Day.
For the next month, we each worked off-
When we were all finished reading our lists, each of us had 153 thank yous to give to Jesus on His birthday.Why not try this idea with your family this Thanksgiving? It could turn out to be one of the biggest blessings of all.
From the book ‘Joy...in the Morning’ Favorites, copyright © 2003 Dotty Moore. All rights reserved.
Variation of this column first ran in Press Enterprise, Bloomsburg, PA, November 23, 1985.
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