We used to say that we lived in a forest. Even though it was situated squarely within the limits of one of the Midwest's most cosmopolitan cities, our Madison home had been built in the midst of trees. On our property stood an ancient White Oak, tall as a folk tale and seemingly proud of shaking its acorns in such a way as to regularly leave a solid layer of nuts across every inch of our doublewide driveway. And then there were the Shagbark Hickories: a half-dozen 3-story monsters sur-rounding and towering over our 2-story house. When the Hickories shed their produce, we found ourselves bombarded by green-sheathed nuts the size of golf balls. During autumn, it was wise to wear a hardhat when tending our yard!        During the first fall that we lived in the woods, I had a brilliant idea. I would gather up the miraculous fruits of our forest and put them to good use. I envisioned using the acorns in craft projects, which I'd lovingly assemble and give as Christmas gifts. Likewise, I thought about giving away the hickory nuts after they'd been baked into banana breads &date cakes.        One crisp and sunny day, I carried a stack of brown paper grocery bags into the yard and began the collection. It was the easiest thing in the world to choose a spot, kneel down, and scoop up an entire sack of nuts before having to switch locations. In no time at all I'd filled 4 or 5 grocery bags. I stashed them on the screen porch at the back of the house when it was time to move onto the day's next task. I fully expected to return to Operation Nut Case the next day. But when you have a lot of trees, guess what else you have?        I get a big chuckle when I imagine how delighted the first squirrel must have been to hit the motherlode. What a lagniappe! What a cornucopia of good fortune! I imagine the critter called in his friends and family to share in the feast because, by the following morning, though the bags and shell shards were left behind, the nuts had disappeared.        Thanksgiving is, of course, the perfect season to be mindful of how plentiful God's blessings are. Sometimes, though, the blessings turn out to be different than we anticipated. Sometimes they're better! Sometimes the blessing is the result of causing someone else's joy-even if that someone is a squirrel!

Thankfully Yours,

Pastor Chris