Heaven is declaring God’s glory; the sky is proclaiming his handiwork. One day gushes the news to the next, and one night informs another what needs to be known. Of course, there’s no speech, no words— their voices can’t be heard— but their sound extends throughout the world; their words reach the ends of the earth. (Psalm 19:1–3)
Good Day Family,
The Glory of the Season
Summer has given way to fall, a season of unmistakable and glorious transition. Temperatures drop, and the days begin to get shorter. The night extends its daily presence. The leaves turn color and fall from the trees. Fall also signifies the return of school and preparation for several holiday seasons. Certainly, summer has its holidays, but those we celebrate over the fall and winter months tend to last longer than a day, they last for days and weeks. Already, pumpkins are everywhere! Many have already begun their Christmas shopping or considered how Thanksgiving might look like this year.
A few years ago, my niece did an exchange with a student from Denmark. It was part of a program between their two schools. There was a special presentation where the students shared their country’s history, culture and traditions. They shared a lifestyle practice they call hygge (pronounced ho-gee) that embraces activities and moods of coziness and comfort to increase feels of well-being and contentment. They make an art of having a cup of hot chocolate with a cozy throw and a lit candle, for example. It makes sense that a people from a northern clime would learn how to not only make the best of the winter season. They look forward to it because they’ve adjusted their attitude about what could feel like forced hibernation into simple behaviors that bring them contentment and joy.
There’s a lesson here for us. What can we do to make us look forward to the days and weeks ahead? How can we, through our response to life’s circumstances, demonstrate God’s glory to the world as we witness to the goodness of God and declare God’s handiwork in the midst of a global pandemic and a tumultuous election season? If the sky can do it, and the changing leaves on the trees can do it before our very eyes, so can we.
Declaring God’s glory,
Be Well,
Pastor Cheryl