Thanksgiving

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good.

His love endures forever.

Psalm 136:1

Tiffany and I celebrated Canadian Thanksgiving on Saturday, leisurely canoeing a stretch of the Grand River south of Kitchener under a cloudless sky.

We confirmed the great exultation “the earth is full of God’s unfailing love” especially the trees, radiant in October extravaganza, displaying God’s majesty in orange, ruby and gold, mirrored in the river inviting us to join their 'Ode to Joy' in awe and gratitude.


The Grand was a moveable feast - each curve of the river-bank a new vista, a fresh kaleidoscope of maples, spruce, willows and sumac, blue herons, speckled Canada geese and emerald-throated mallards with dusky consorts.

The water danced sky-blue, silver and black; hidden rocks ruffled the surface; in the shallows, stones glistened and grasses bowed with the current.

 We nourished our souls in the warm sun, songs of faith, the quiet of a river-bank lunch, and the joy of companionship - fellow-paddlers on life’s stream.

We marveled at the groundless fears of waterfowl that fled from us each time we drew near and we thought how duck-like we are at times before God.

In short, we reveled in “the great feast and festival of Creation” as Wendell Berry calls it.

As the Anglican Baptism service says,

We give you thanks,

almighty God and Father,

for by the gift of water

you nourish and sustain
all living things.

Happy Thanksgiving!