Dear Lord,

We are officially approaching the season of thanks, the time of year where people are mindful and gratuitous. The time of year where people smile a bit more and where we move just a smidgen slower in an effort to absorb every moment that is taking place.

It is the time of year where diets go by the wayside and people’s concentration is on the goodness of food. Lord it is funny how food and baked goods can draw a smile, it’s amazing how the sensory portion of the brain goes into overdrive when when we taste something that dances on our palates, and it is you oh Lord that has allowed us to indulge in this euphoric time of year.

There is no other space in time where food is more celebrated and love is more exacerbated than during the holidays, and for some it is only during this time that we bless the hands who made the food, we praise them for taking the time, and honor them for making it so darn good.

But Lord it is also an exciting time to taste foods we had not encountered before and thank Jesus that through your mighty works you created something so splendid. Today for the first time in my life I tasted rhubarb and strawberry pie from Delicious Orchard in Colts Necks, New Jersey, and upon first bite if I could stopped right there and praised you for your goodness and creativity with fruit and plants I would have.

This rhubarb and strawberry pie tasted like life to me. It represented all the components that life often has to offer. At the first hit in my mouth I got tart from the strawberry and rhubarb; and life sure is tart some times, but as I began to chew and let it lay on my tongue I got a smidgen of sweet and it reminded me of your ways, sometimes we encounter tartness in this life, but being the great opportunity taker you are you turn it even into a smidgen of sweet. As a began to savor I got a burst of freshness and coolness from the rhubarb which reminded me of what fall represents. Sure its gets darker earlier and the days seem shorter, but it is all a sign that a new day is on the horizon. With every chew I was reminded of your promise which is, while the earth remains there will be seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, winter and summer, and day and night shall not cease and that is exactly what fall is. Then I got close to the end where i am now eating the edges of the flaky and buttery crust, and while smiling I thought, how excellent you are oh Lord, yea this crust is just crusty enough and i wanna make sure I chew and not just swallow, for its slight hardness reminds to slow down and make sure I stand in this moment and meditate on the goodness, and I wanna recognize that all together this is a reminiscent of life, and in the end, I say thank you Lord because it was all good with every single bite.

Thank you Lord🙏🏽