The first day of November, and well into autumn.  The trees here (Montana) are baring fast.   Many are already clean of leaves.   Some still have quite a few leaves, though.

While eating lunch at a local restaurant, yesterday, I noticed a thin membrane of ice on much of the surface of a pond outside.  Not really normal for our area.  But it’s need colder at night this week, so we’re getting a preview of winter.

Ducks and big Canadian geese have been flying around quite a bit the last month or so.  We often have great flocks of the geese settling down at night in the empty fields around us.  Sugar beets, which should have been pulled from the ground by now, are still in many fields, since the extra rain and then snow has made the ground too wet.

Even though the cold restricts some of the things I really want to do, this is heading into my favorite time of the year.  A native of Texas heat, I rejoice in Montana’s cold winter air.  I feel most at home when the ground has ice and snow on it, it seems.  And I certainly feel more alive in the crisp, cold air than in the heavy, humid heat of Southeast Texas.

God has greatly blessed this nation, though.  Every corner of the land has it’s own beauty, it’s own attraction.  I’ve traveled into and through most states, and have lived in quite a few.  I prefer Montana to any other place, but I have a love for spots in New England, in Florida, California, the Midwest, in Washington state, and many other places.

We are not a better people than those of any other country.  We are no more worthy of our prosperity and freedom than anyone else on earth.  For the most part, we have simply inherited the blessing that others have purchased for us with their own courage and blood and sweat.

In great kindness of heart, God saw fit to make a place here for the people of the world to come and live in relative peace.  And now we are here, people from just about every land under the sun.  And all that unites us, really, is the land itself and the wonderful opportunities bought for us by the brave men and women who lived and died long ago.

Soon it will be Thanksgiving Day.  But every day is a good day to give thanks to God for the blessings of life and opportunity we have.  I have been dirt poor and I have been well off, and in every condition, the kindness and blessing of God has been with me.  Likewise, the United States itself has seen lean times and good times, but in all those times, God has been good to us.  He has preserved us to this day.

May the Lord continue to watch over us all.  Amen.