As the celebration of Thanksgiving approaches, I write to you in a spirit of gratitude and hope. At this time of year, it can sometimes seem like a time of loss, as we see trees and gardens completing their summer cycle. In the midst of COVID, this sense might be heightened.
In the past two weeks, I have harvested my vegetables and flower seeds. I have been filled with gratitude for the food I have been able to share. As I have picked cranberries, both high bush, and low bush, I have been grateful for the quiet, reflective time in the silence of the trees. Thanksgiving filled my heart as I remembered the beauty of each flower that graced my yard this summer.
In collecting seeds from some of the flowers, I experienced a sense of hope as I looked at the tiny seeds, and knew the potential each seed held in bringing new life and beauty next summer. I smiled the other day as I sat reflecting from my recliner. Looking out the front window, I was surprised to see a small sunflower blooming on the edge of the riverbank. With a closer look, there were two more sunflower plants growing. No doubt, a bird or squirrel had dropped the seeds. Such potential of new life!
Walking through the backyard a few weeks ago, I noticed a delicate, soft, cream coloured pansy in full bloom, growing away from all the other flower beds. It caused me to ponder, what an unlikely place to grow; how did it land here; how did it survive my footsteps?
We have each been blessed with the fruits of the Spirit; love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.These are our seeds to sow; our gifts to share. Which particular gift is yours to share? During these days of COVID our works and presence in our communities may be altered, and yet we are still called individually and as a group of dedicated women, to be witnesses to our values or pillars of faith, service and justice. Where might our seeds fall? How might my gift give life to another? I may never know.
Blessings, Sister Margaret Ann Beaudette, csj
In the gift of this new day,
In the gift of the present moment,
In the gift of time and eternity entwined
Let me be thankful
Let me be attentive
Let me be open to what has never happened before…
Taken from Sounds of the Eternal: A Celtic Psalter, Morning and Night Prayer, J.Philip Newell