Happy Thanksgiving

This scene can be found on the pulpit in the front of our church.  I photographed it last week while I was there on an errand.  I liked the colors and the classical nature of the subject matter.  I am envious of the people who can arrange objects into a beautiful display.  The scene reminds me of Thanksgiving from another era.

While attending Sunday service, we sang hymns that beckoned back to fall harvest time when our society was mainly agricultural and life was remembered as pastoral.  My mind wandered to a scene where the sounds of the singing were flowing from a rural church where most of the community gathered to sing and be reminded of their gratitude for the seasons and the harvest.  It seemed a bit odd to be singing these hymns, as our lives and circumstances are so very different from the lives of those who sat in this church in 1858.

Our world is complex and unforgiving in ways that our ancestors in the 1850s could never imagine.  In return, we wax nostalgic about their carefree life grounded in the peace of living simply off the land and surrounded by people who are like us and close to us.  We forget that life expectancy was about 40 years and medical assistance was primitive or nonexistent in this area.  An agricultural livelihood was even more risky due to lack of weather science, seed development, pest control, and backbreaking and dangerous farming practices.

What we hold in common, though nearly one hundred fifty years apart, is our gratitude for life, family, and sufficient resources to share with family and those we love.

A Very Happy Thanksgiving!     My favorite holiday of the year.