Reflection has a couple of meanings. It can mean to look back, to think about, to contemplate. Like the images of the trees in the pond in the picture below it can also mean to take something and send it out or back, like a mirror.
I have so much to be grateful for. At our Thanksgiving service Pastor Paul asked what we were thankful for. Family. Friends. Things to do. Much better than expected crop. Great weather for Iowa in late November. I just noticed in the pic below five of our seven granddaughters sat in front of us Thursday morning.
Let's take that being thankful a step farther. How can we reflect that and enable those around us to be grateful? Do our conversations absorb ourselves or reflect others? You know a $100 bill hidden away somewhere has no value until you spend it or give it away. Our time is the same way. What and who do we spend our time on?
Last Sunday evening I was blessed to be invited to a Thanksgiving supper at Gateway Church in Monroe. A delicious supper and great conversation with a whole lot of folks. Danny spoke about our individual roles and the churches responsibility in the civic area of our state. Leadership in our communities, our churches, our jobs, and our families isn't about being great. Leadership is about enabling others to be great.
With the fall starting to wind down I hope to take the time to involve some of you and your stories in this visit. Loren, Jean, their family, and their crew have a manufacturing business west of Pella. Great folks. BJ and I stopped the other day for a visit. Way back when Loren and I spent a lot of time together on the new PCHS campus construction. Loren also helps coach my grandkids shooting team. :)
Well, BJ is still busy tiling. Ryan and Andy have been his crew. Below he is running a ten inch tile up each side of a draw that Mike cleaned up for me this summer.
Just like life sometimes you run into obstacles. Below BJ had to unhook from his tile boot, pull ahead, and then take his track hoe and dig out the rocks.
BJ and Cassia's son John closed tile ditches with our dozer. Actually John's older brother Gideon helped Irv tile down the road for a neighbor a day or two.
I've shared with you many times how I'm grateful kids can help their Dads. That's been going on for generations on the farm.
Alex and Kurt pulled on some of our own smoke this week. I always say that every fieldwork day after Thanksgiving is a gift weatherwise. Even with a great forecast December usually brings winter with it.
We had a great Thanksgiving get-together. My parents, my brothers Doug and Bill and their families, my sister Beth and her family, and most of our children and grandchildren. As always Jan did a great job with the food. The girls brought dishes. I've got to mention Ginger's pies. Wow.
Our family get-togethers are never short of activities. Shortly after dinner Allison and Natalie asked me if they could go to the shop and sweep the floor because they needed money. Starting to be a regular ritual. I said ok and as we walked over to the shop I noticed I had eight little ones following. I've gotta get me some more brooms. We scooped and swept and put things away. I had to go to the house and borrow $1 bills from Jan in order to settle up. :)
Later while checking out BJ and Cassia's house construction the little kids found "treasures" left over from the fire and said they were playing camping. Jackson and Harris are stirring grass, rocks, and dirt, and calling it soup.
The middle age kids found a tile insert and were rolling each other down a dirt hill.
The older kids and the Dads shot clay pigeons off the pond dike. Doug's boys Ben and Luke had a good day shooting. So did Bill's son Andrew who goes to DMAC for mechanics. I think Andrew has a record of shooting 75 straight when he was on the PCHS shooting team.
Last evening as I was walking to check on the cabin for today's guest I noticed the moon. Even though it was just half size it was beautiful on a quiet evening. I got to thinking that no matter how gorgeous it is it produces no light of it's own. It only reflects from another source.
How are we at reflecting to others? What and whom are we living for? I heard a Hallmark movie commercial say that if you care enough you can change the world. With a servanthearted attitude I think that's true. The Hallmark movie was about an ordinary girl who was zapped into time 70 years later and how the little things she did for others had an impact for generations and lifetimes. Have you ever noticed how hard it is to reflect credit? How do you react when someone else gets or takes credit for what you have done? Just like the pond or the moon, in the big picture, all our accomplishments are only a reflection of the abilities and opportunities God has given us. Go this week, and be the reflection of your Creator.
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