ALPINEMOON

This past summer, the National Botanical Gardens in Washington, D.C. played host to a spectacular collection of exhibits from all over the United States. As I strolled among the sample gardens from Arizona, California, Colorado, Missouri, North Carolina, and elsewhere I felt like I had entered the Garden of Eden. The diversity of color and pattern displayed on that warm July day filled my soul with serene awe at the wonders of this world. Wonders so vast and diverse that we cannot hope or even dream to take in all of them. But we can experience some of them if we are not in too much of a hurry to stop, open our eyes, and gaze upon the richness of life that surrounds us.

The four of us come from different places, different parents, and different races. Even so our home's a great place to be 'cause, now, we have a family. Together we laugh, we cry, we cheer. It's goes that way year after year; through ups and downs and thick and thin, til' Father calls us back again. We're truly grateful to have each other and hope that soon we'll have another to share our joys, and sorrows, and fun, even after our work on Earth is done.

Autumn is a time for jumping in leaves, gathering final garden fruits, and telling stories around the campfire. We especially cherish the annual outing to the pumpkin patch, where games, hayrides, and apple cider warm both body and soul and build memories span generations. As a parting gesture, autumn winds bath the earth in a kalaidescope of reds, yellows, oranges and browns, a fitting preparation for the earth's well-deserved slumber. It's a time of thanks to Heaven and Earth for bountiful gifts richly bestowed. And a time to prepare for the celebration of Jesus' birth. God bless everyone this autumn season.