Be Still and Know - Day 18

[If you're just now joining in, you may want to read my introduction first.]

When was the last time you were outdoors and got still and quiet enough to hear the wind rustle the trees a hundred yards away - then listened as it made it's way through the trees, wooshing its way toward where you were, until finally you felt the cold air waft across your face and through your hair?
I don't know if I ever have before, but I did that today.

When was the last time you watched a cottonwood seed float down and around and across the currents of the wind until it rested on top of a crisp, auburn leaf on the ground?
I don't know if I ever have before, but I did that today.

When is the last time you walked through the toast-colored grass of fall and watched as the little striped grasshoppers jumped out in front of you with each step you took?
I don't know if I ever have before, but I did that today.

When was the last time you gazed up at the cerulean sky through the golden leaves, and noticed stark shimmering rays of sunshine stream down onto your feet?
I don't know if I ever have before, but I did that today.

My meditation today was heightened again by the surroundings of nature. There is a completeness you tend to feel when you're out in the middle of God's creation. I truly felt that today. While I know each human being and living thing are created unique and individual, we are also created by the same Creator; and we are created to need one another. There is a unity in us all. God's beautiful creation speaks of that oneness to us when we listen.

Another truly marvelous thing today was the time we spent as a family serving the least among us. My extended family has always been welcoming and helping toward those in need. And so several years ago, we decided it would be great to start a tradition of serving together on Thanksgiving weekend. We wanted to show our children how easy and rewarding it is; we wanted to make meaningful memories; we wanted to help others during this tough time of year; and we wanted to make our family-time also about leaving the world a better place.

This year we went to a parking lot in downtown Shreveport and helped a ministry called The Hub serve a meal to the homeless of the area. While the meal was, of course, a needed thing for the hungry stomachs of those displaced folks, I have to say that the very best part was seeing every one of our family members engage with people who - separate from their circumstances - are just like us. From the oldest to youngest of us, we were all meeting new friends, serving them food, picking up their trash, sharing a smile, listening to stories, holding their children, watching their magic tricks, and all in all letting them know that they were important and we cared about them.

This was just a one time kind of service project for us, so unfortunately we will likely never see those folks again. But remembering my meditation time this morning out under the trees, I recognize the deep connectedness between my little family and each of those we met today. We need each other. We are each other. Every soul created and loved by God. I pray God's blessings and favor on each of those precious people, just as on us. Anthony, Isaac, Tammy, Adrianna, and the many more whose names I forgot or didn't get, I am thankful for you.