November 18, 2010 (the handle of faith)

the handle of faith

Every year, in the first or second week of November,
I place our “Harvest/Halloween” pumpkins
out in the backyard up against the one silver maple tree.
Eventually they begin to crumble apart as they rot.
Some wildlife will come and hasten the process
by feeding on them.
As they “open” up I will sprinkle
bird seed on them and the birds
will begin to feed there too.

After a few frosts and snowfalls
the pumpkins rapidly disappear as
winter takes its toll.

“It is only when we want
to take our lives out of the Father’s hands
and have them under our own control
that we find ourselves gripped with anxiety.
The secret of freedom from anxiety
is freedom from ourselves
and abandonment of our own plans.
But that spirit emerges in our lives
only when our minds are filled
with the knowledge that our Father
can be trusted implicitly
to supply everything we need.”
- Sinclair Ferguson

“Every tomorrow has two handles.
We can take hold of it
with the handle of anxiety
or the handle of faith.”
- Henry Ward Beecher