Glorious weather a harbinger of coming fall
By Les Ferguson, Jr.
Columnist
This past Saturday felt like Fall in North Mississippi. Paris, to be exact. It was glorious. Of
course, living in the metropolitan area of Paris with all its sights and delights, I find many days
to be above average.
It’s generally quiet and peaceful here. Occasionally, you can hear cows lowing off in the
distance, an occasional log truck passing by, or a distant neighbor taking some target practice
time.
But Saturday in Paris was a harbinger of the near future. Cooler temperatures, less humidity,
and that sky of blue that is so different from the rest of the year.
I know some folks are enamored of that other Paris that is so much in the news of late.
Unfortunately, we can't compete with pole vaulting, synchronized swimming, relay races, or
gymnastics. And unfortunately, my break-dancing days are long ago in a past that never
existed.
However, the last few winters may have seen us develop some Winter Olympic abilities in this
North Mississippi bastion of culture — things like falling-down-on-ice-while-looking-graceful or
sledding-down-hills-on-cardboard. But I digress.
Yes, Saturday was glorious. It felt so good to be outside and to see without steamed-over
glasses. It was nice to walk down the driveway to the mailbox without suffering heat stroke or
needing resuscitation. Working outside did not feel like the fiery furnace used to stoke the
temperature of Dante’s Inferno. Better yet, I never wished to live in Alaska — at least this past
Saturday.
If you are like me, I imagine you are accustomed to wishing it was hot when it's cold and vice
versa. We need rain; we don’t want rain. Rarely are we content.
My high school class motto was from Philippians 4:13, “I am able to do all things through him
who strengthens me.” (CSB‬) That’s a great verse, but it means more than what we typically
understand. If you back up a verse, the context is about being content, whatever the
circumstances. That's what Paul means when he says, “I can do all things…”
Learning to be content is a major, big thing to do when regarding the weather or any other
circumstance of life. As Ben Franklin is thought to have said, “Content makes poor men rich;
discontent makes rich men poor.”
Indeed.
May you be blessed with the contentment only God can give.