A Picture Perfect Day

I often feel it is so easy to feel God's presence on a beautiful day such as this, when the leaves are at their most glorious, when the crispness in the air compels you to make a big pot of soup and an apple pie, when it's what I love, sweatshirt weather. I live for these kind of days, the days that bring me back to my childhood and the new england smell in the air. I feel comforted and free and wonderous. It makes me realize I live in a sensory state! I suppose that is why this kind of day is so invigorating, it brings "back" so many glimmers of beauty from my young adulthood-an October wedding just 31 years ago, pumpkin patches with the girls, apple picking with the family, hayrides, winery trips, bread making, craft fairs, football games.

As I embrace this day and make the most of it, I know it would be much more difficult if the picture were different. If it were raining, and the leaves were falling, the skies were gray, and the dampness was settling, I would be looking at this day differently. I certainly know the earth will turn, the tides will change, and in the next minute, the dreary could replace the illuminating, and I mean that in terms of life, more than I do this day. That is when I must be prepared to take what I learn from THIS day at hand and make it the best it can possibly be, armor myself, and tackle whatever does come my way. I thank God for His goodness and grace that will carry me through the beauty and the dark, for even having this 0pportunity to live a new day, and to make a new memory on this autumn day. For this moment in time, He has replaced the deep sadness of loss and painful memory with the new chance, by creating this amazing day. I do intend to rejoice and be glad in it!