Seasons and Traditions

I remember my childhood concept of the calendar as being something like this: Fall was the beginning because it was when school started - and then the Fair - and then Halloween - and the end of Fall would bring Thanksgiving. Then Winter with Christmas and 2 weeks of vacation from school - my birthday - and Valentines Day. Then Spring would bring Easter and Mothers Day. Then finally Summer would issue in vacation from school and Fathers Day and most years a family trip to the beach or the mountains. And then the year would begin all over again with the return of Fall and school.


In late October, we began looking in the mail for that wonderful book which would delight and amuse us for weeks to come - the Sears Christmas Catalogue! Mother used that book to coax us into finishing our chores, to provide a quiet time, to teach us lessons about dreaming and making choices. By the time the Christmas season actually arrived, that book would be well worn with loose pages from its frequent use. It was a big catalogue and our best source of the classic and latest toys of the fifties. We would sit together, Janet and I, and begin on the first page - each choosing the one item on each page that was the best. When our little brother Mike was old enough, he was allowed to sit and choose with us. Sometimes we would lose patience with the beginning of the book and its gift ideas, ladies clothes, the tools, etc. and hasten on to the candy and toy sections. In reality, we probably only received a few items that were actually ordered from those catalogues each year, but we had so much fun dreaming over those pages that it was a highlight of the approaching holidays. And that tradition of looking for the Sears Wish Book continued for years and years and was introduced to my little girls later on. What a delicious memory.

Seeing Christmas decorations already out in the stores in late summer always shocks me. I want to say "Wait a minute! Don't rush us past Thanksgiving. Give us a chance to look forward to what is ahead." We don't get to develop patience and that wonderful sense of anticipation when it is out there in our faces too soon. (Of course my nutty husband would be happy to put up a Christmas-in-August tree and leave it up!)

As for me - I will enjoy this lovely Fall season which is leading up to Thanksgiving. We will drive down the highways that always share the beautfy of changing leaves. I love the colorful scene outside my window. I breathe in the cool air and know that soon we will have the fireplaces warming up. I'm thinking of this harvest season and the Lord of the Harvest, thankful for all He has given us, wondering in what areas I have not stocked up sufficiently. Have I been a good neighbor and should I be checking on how I can better serve others and make sure their needs are being met?

Lord, let me be a pilgrim who follows You and serves others as I seek to serve You.