Thank You, Father, for the beautiful bright but crisp autumn day! The beauty of Your creation uplifts even the downtrodden!

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Last week, Massey and I went on a walk around a pond that is maintained by our local school system. On our second pass around, I wanted to take a picture of a wonderful outcropping of Asters that were growing near the pond amongst some evergreen shrubs. I was pretty sure they were asters, and when I researched the pictures I took, sure enough, they were labeled as New England Asters.

Maybe I shouldn’t be, but I am always amazed at the fact that I can find a lesson in just about anything I find in God’s great creation! Take these simple but beautiful flowers. While most other flowers are tapering off – our coneflowers and black-eyed Susans, as well as our petunias, are pretty much done. But when I took this picture, the Asters were at their prime.

An online article I read stated, “The flowers are an important source of nectar for late-season pollinators, especially Monarchs, as they stock up for their fall migration to Mexico.”

You may be thinking, “Yeah? So what?” Well, it got me to thinking. What kind of person am I? What kind of person are you? In our hectic and time-consuming lives, have we pushed ourselves so much that when “late arrivers” come, we have nothing to offer those who are in need?

I know that there are times when I am just whipped. I am out of reserves. I’ve given my all to the day behind me, and I don’t seem to have anything left to give. Then I get a phone call, or my family needs something. Most often, I will dig deep and give what is needed.

Monarchs – and I’ve seen several fluttering about the last few days – need sustenance. They have a long trip ahead of them. Their journey is not yet complete. And while many flowers on God’s green earth are done, the aster comes out to take care of the need that remains. Granted, that’s the way God made them, but they do what they were made to do.

God made us to love Him and to love others. We must do what we were created to do. Often it doesn’t have to be anything that involves a great amount of time or resources. Oftentimes all that is needed is a listening ear…a shoulder to cry. Someone who takes the time to show that someone else’s need is not trivial, that it doesn’t go unnoticed.

And when it seems our resources are running on empty, we have but to tap into God’s great reserve! Love! Strength! Mercy! Compassion! Wisdom! Patience! It is all right there for the asking and the taking. We might just be what a “late arriver” needs to carry on!