Headed south on the City of New Orleans…
The Delta is beautiful this morning with multiple shades of earth tones, from the deep dark chocolate of the alluvial dirt to the golden shades of the broomsedge to the occasional blood red of the sumac and the sweet gum along the tracks. The land, as if one being, seems to take a deep restorative breath as it begins to settle into its season of rest, of fallowness and waiting. All of nature seems to slow down, offering opportunities for reflection and introspection on the amazing Gift that is once again promised to us and is coming soon…
I love the season of Advent…the anticipation…the expectation of something about to happen…candles bringing light into the darkness of our world’s winter… and the Promise…
The fields know of the Promise…and they rest in it…the fields know that spring will come in time and new life will begin. They never tire of the same story being told each winter, whether near the fireplace, in sacred spaces, or in open hearts…and neither do I.
Here’s a seasonal song for you…may your Thanksgiving be filled with peace and gratitude….Tricia
“In A Bleak Midwinter”
(based on “A Christmas Carol”, a poem by Christina Rossetti)
In the bleak midwinter frosty winds made moan.
Earth stood hard as iron. Water like a stone.
Snow had fallen, snow on snow, snow on snow,
In the bleak midwinter, long ago.
Angels and archangels may have gathered there.
Cherubim and seraphim thronged the air.
But His mother only, in her maiden’s bliss,
Worshipped the beloved with a kiss.
What can I give Him, poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd, would I bring a lamb?
If I were a wise man, would I do my part?
Yet what can I give Him? Give my heart.
