Mississippi River at Memphis, looking south from east bank
Thanksgiving season is one of my most favorite times of the year. Thanksgiving Day should be a time of reflection, family and friends; A time of remembering the many blessings we all have. A time to remember Who it all comes from. To be thankful and enjoy the bounty God has given is good. The Psalms are full of reminders to always be thankful. Psalms 100 says this:
A Psalm for Thanksgiving. Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth. Serve the LORD with gladness; Come before Him with joyful singing. Know that the LORD Himself is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Enter His gates with thanksgiving And His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him, bless His name. For the LORD is good; His lovingkindness is everlasting And His faithfulness to all generations.
My wife and I were blessed to visit our daughter and son-in-law, my son and his girlfriend as well as all the grand kids in Memphis this past Thanksgiving week. To have the gift of a family who is together in one place – a true blessing from God. Psalm 127:3 and 4 says:
Behold, children are a gift of the LORD, The fruit of the womb is a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, So are the children of one’s youth.
I know my children, spouses and grand kids are all a blessing from God, and this Thanksgiving “east of the Mississippi” was a great time of enjoying them all.
We spent the first few days eating, playing games, eating, playing games and then we squeezed in a bit of eating when we could 🙂 Also, one day my son-in-law blessed me with an outing on the Mississippi River to fish for some of those large cat’s that live in it’s depths. I think is was the coldest fishing trip I have ever been on, but enjoyed it none the less.
As I usually do when traveling, I carried my plein air easel along to perhaps work through a little plein air color study while in Memphis, if the opportunity presented itself. Towards the end of the week, I had a slow morning and decided to drag out my easel and set it up in my daughter’s front yard.
9 x 12 Plein air oil on panel
In their front yard stands a huge tree that I noticed the very first time I visited them, and all the visits that have followed I have been intrigued by this Goliath of a tree. The leaves were gone by this time and I’m not really sure what kind of tree is was, perhaps a kind of maple. It reminds me of the large sugar maples I have seen east of the Mississippi. The morning light was laying across the neighborhood, illuminating this tree, providing an array of light and shadow, accompanied by an inviting display of hundreds of subtle warm and cool colors. And, it was cold this particular morning. Especially while standing still, moving only a hand or arm a little. My mind kept returning to the warm fire that was just inside the walls behind me. The cold seemed to soak in my clothes like water through a worn and half submerged cardboard box that is spending it’s last days floating down the cold and unstoppable Mississippi River.
It seems that I was not the only one who found the huge tree an inviting and intriguing place, even in the cold. The entire morning while painting I could here the muffled, rhythmic sound of a little Downy Woodpecker who was diligently making his home in one of the upper branches of this tree.
In the few days we were there it hollowed out a space that allowed it to dissapear completely inside. Even then, the construction still could be heard. I’m thinking it was making some furniture to prepare for it’s future family.
Finally, after a couple of hours of paint and cold, having worked through the process of attempting to capture the allusive patterns of hue, values and lines of this beautiful tree, I found my way back inside to the warmth of the fire. There may have been food involved as well, not sure.
This Thanksgiving I was again reminded of how blessed I am to spend time with a beautiful daughter and her family, as well as a great son, both who are hammering out a path through life. I’m reminded of God’s words when Jesus was baptized in the Jordan River. God the father said this about God the Son, Jesus, “This is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased”. I am thankful I can say the same thing about the children God blessed Donna and I with.
