Porch pondered in the swing today between chores. Been cloudy much of the day, overcast cloud covers like melted vanilla ice cream in a beautiful bowl with purples and blues and cigar smoke gray swirled in by a sterling silver spoon. I love to stare at an overcast sky and look for colors. When the sun finally burst through the clouds, the heavens were an ocean of deep azure. Father Sky looked in his box of pastels today and picked up a beautiful blue stick to sketch the afternoon sky.

His sky is perfect, looks like a deep blue sapphire ring hanging off the warm finger of the sun, so in love she’s beaming with joy. I wonder if Father Sky gave it to her. I wonder if he shopped at Tiffany’s. Maybe the man in the moon purchased the ring. I love this quote from The Minds Journal about the sun and the moon. “Sometimes, I think of the sun and the moon as lovers who rarely meet, always chase, and almost always miss one another. But once in a while, they do catch up, and they kiss, and the world stares in awe of their eclipse.” I love that! No moon tonight. Mr. New Moon is between the sun and Earth so the side we see is in darkness. He’s too close to the sun’s glare. The show must go on so the stars will have to shine centerstage on their own in the night’s sky.  

As I perch in the swing, I keep looking down the street at a beautiful rendering of an autumn landscape. The maple trees, all decked in their cardigans of glorious earth colors, are so beautiful as the suns rays run down their branches and illuminate their leaves. Kahil Gibran said, “Trees are poems that the earth writes upon the sky.” I thought of that quote as I sat in the swing and watched the afternoon sun filtering down through the trees. Some of the trees are still dressed in their cardigans of many colors. Others standing tall with their naked limbs, the oak’s limbs adorned with their mistletoe balls. The magnolias are standing tall and soldier like, their foliage dark green with life.

We’re a lot like trees. We have seasons in our lives, weather storms and winds, learn how to stand tall in the face of adversity rooted in our faith in God. Trees change through the seasons, learn to bend and not break, secure in Mother Earth’s soil. Some of us travel through our lives not shedding any leaves, safe and secure in our growth, but stagnant without the Lord’s light. Others bend and break and shed their leaves, transforming themselves by God’s grace, standing tall and strong. Our faith and our spiritual roots help us grow and spread our branches blooming with God’s holy light. We all need to stand tall, unwavering in our belief in God, facing life’s challenges with conviction, leaving a legacy of faith, blessing our families, helping guide their futures.

We need to spread seeds of God’s love and faithfulness, being gardeners for growing faith. The trees leave a legacy of seeds. The trees shelter us from rain and cool us with their shade. God shelters us from life’s trials when we lay our burdens down through prayer. God nourishes us through his words and listens and responds to us when we pray. Our spiritual roots sustain us in difficult times. Faith is a gift. We just open our hearts to receive it.

As we prepare for Thanksgiving next week let’s remember there are lots of misery and loneliness in this world making the holidays depressing for those without family. We can lift the darkness from someone’s life and help them be optimistic about tomorrow. Ephesians 4:32 says, “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” Biblical scripture says kindness is a gift from God and a fruit of the spirit. Galatians 5:22 says, “But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness.”

Leo Buscaglia writes, “Too often, we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.” Doesn’t take much effort to have a significant positive impact on someone with a small act of kindness. When we place others needs before our own we are being obedient to God’s commandments. Theologian James Bryan Smith defines goodness as “that which works for the benefit or betterment of another. That which is good makes us better, heals us, restores us, improves us, strengthens us and makes us right.”

Kindness is an expression of goodness and goodness is a quality we develop through our relationship with God. Jesus healed the sick and fed the hungry. We can help those in need with our love and compassion. Being kind to others improves our own well being. And kindness can have a ripple effect making the world a happier place. I think a genuine smile is a gift and when the smile is full of God’s love it’s priceless.

“No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.” — Aesop