Come, ye thankful people, come.
Thanksgiving Day is in the rearview mirror, and Christmas is just around the corner. In just two days, I will flip my wall calendar to December 2024. (Where did this year go?)
Before the craziness of December begins, I’ve decided to spend the final days of November expressing my gratitude to God for His blessings. With a still-full tummy from yesterday’s feast, I think I’ll start with the food that I eat.
Honestly, when John and I are in Richmond, I give little thought to the source of my food. But when we’re in Cape Charles, well, that’s a different story. In the historic district of town, depending on the season, I see pecans, walnuts, blackberries, apples, pomegranates, pears, and figs. In the fields outside of town, I watch the planting, watering, and harvesting of corn, rapeseed, green beans, soybeans, tomatoes, strawberries, sweet potatoes, and rye. And in the waters of the Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean, I see boats—no doubt filled with oysters, clams, scallops, crab, shrimp, and a variety of fish.
Oh, the bounteous goodness that meets my eyes on Virginia’s Eastern Shore.
To the farmers and the watermen in this area, I offer my sincere gratitude for their relentless, year-round work.
And to God, for His daily provision of my wants and needs, I “raise the song of harvest home!”
Come, ye thankful people, come.
Raise the song of harvest home!
All is safely gathered in,
Ere the winter storms begin.
God, our Maker, doth provide
For our wants to be supplied.
Come to God’s own temple, come,
Raise the song of harvest home.
We ourselves are God’s own field,
Fruit unto His praise to yield.
Wheat and tares together sown
Unto joy or sorrow grown.
First the blade, and then the ear,
Then the full corn shall appear.
Lord of harvest, grant that we
Wholesome grain and pure may be.
Amen.
Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good. Psalm 136:1