Dusk

If I possessed any artistic talent whatsoever, I’d paint a picture for you of the dusky calm I’ve nestled into. The cool and cloudy-dark of a receding storm, the night bugs and tree frogs singing, the glow and scent of a favorite candle...after a whirlwindy-maelstrom of a month, this is what I need. Everything softens and relaxes with the waves of silky night air pouring through the windows.

The lack of posts all this time has been the quiet of happiness and thanksgiving, awe in the face of reflection. Yes, life has continued moving at a hectic pace and I frequently long to pause for naps in sunshine puddles, but overwhelmingly this season is one of wondering gratitude. It’s a season of hearing in the tree frogs’ song choruses of “it really is a fine evening, isn’t this moment grand?”

I don’t have a specific tale that comes to mind, but there is in Märchen a common concept of marking transitions, of recognizing the high and low points of life that cause one to be changed. Thankfulness, too, is a common theme and illustrated both in the positive and negative; those who recognize and express thanks are often successful in their venture, whereas those selfish and graceless “non-thankers” tend to encounter unpleasant repercussions. Scripture has a lot to say about thankfulness too (there are too many to choose from!).

“So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.” Colossians 2:6-7

“You are my God, and I will give you thanks; you are my God, and I will exalt you. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.” Psalm 118:28-29

“Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that can not be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our ‘God is a consuming fire.’” Hebrews 12:28-29

So I find myself, in this season of unexpected goodness that is NOTHING I can claim to have had a hand in, bowled over by achingly beautiful gratitude for and to my King. And my fear is not that failing to be thankful would be punished, but that I would become complacent and merely hoard the goodness that yes, is for me, but is ultimately to be shared for His glory. I’ve wrestled this whole summer with how to best offer thanks. I have been changed this past year, and none of it by my power. I have received a multitude of blessings, and none through deserving or earning or meriting. So then- how shall I mark this transition, and what expression of thanks is fitting to offer?

I have ideas, but no answers yet, and so I will bask in the cool dusk and the love of a great God and good King, and agree with the tree frogs- this really is a fine moment.