Two Septembers

I've always said I wished there were two Septembers--
one to take care of all the back to school, kick off the routine stuff,
and one to just enjoy the beauty.

Nowadays, that's even more the case.  

It used to be that our activities really stacked up in the early part of summer

that I lovingly referred to as Summer I.
Then we would catch our breath and go on vacation during Summer II.

But now fall is the new Summer I.

There's marching band.

Football.

Chess.

And beauty
that just won't wait for the schedule to let up.

We actually had two Septembers this year, as far as the weather goes.

October was just spectacular, like a September II,
but we were still busy with all the stuff.

We weren't shivering in the bleachers, though,
so that was awesome!

Then the truly amazing happened--
November blew in and we've had September III.

It has been warm and glorious, and I have soaked in every minute of it.
It really feels like God has been hearing my plea
and decided to pull out all the stops on fall this year.

I'm so thankful for the glorious weather,
and also the chance to reconnect as a family.

You know what else I'm thankful for this year?
The dinner table.

It's the place where we most often check in with each other,
laugh together, and find out what's on everyone's mind.
It's where we're reminded that we belong to each other.
It's been lively and sweet lately, with everyone present and a little extra time to linger.

Meanwhile, all around us there is a lot of talking
and a whole lot of arguing this year in the marketplace of ideas--
the round table, if you will.
My prayer for my family, my friends, my church, and my country
is that when we are discussing the things we hold dear
at the round table of ideas (especially online),
we will remember that it's almost time to gather
at the dinner table of Thanksgiving
where we'll be reminded once again that we belong to one another.
Each one of us, created by God to bear his image.
Each of us with some things to say, and much to learn.
May we not let the conversations at the round table
jeopardize the love around the dinner table.