I think that it has been long enough since I posted last; the pear tart is quite eaten up and I have made a few other desserts since, including a most delicious apple galette which tempted my lips to partake of a second piece! *gasp* ‘Tis mostly worked off now. 
The fall weather is deliciously stimulating; tumbling winds pluck wine red leaves from out the trees to fall to their decay and demise underneath my foot as I trod the old paths outside. Monumental clouds wander to and fro in the sky, temperamentally bumping into each other; then they kiss violently and fix our laughing faces raptly on their blundering attempts to express love with lusty, forceful words.
From the early morning when the stage was being set, to late this afternoon when the ensemble was complete, God’s hand was set upon orchestrating a melodious production with a grand finale this evening; the last act now being played out to a tune similar to the 1812 overture. Rare beauty.
I am blessed and enviable, for God has graced my life with steadfast friends and family. Far too many times, I have tried to grow from the weed I am into a blossoming flower, scorning advice, neglecting helping hands, as a lone ranger, a pioneer, with just a bible or sundry books in my lap to guide me, little realizing how crucial all members of the body of Christ are. Only when my parched ground is watered with words of compassion and the weeds are painfully pulled from my garden by stubborn, sympathetic hands, do I somewhat comprehend the utter importance of sharing my burdens with others.
No, I will not and do not expect them to live my faith for me, or run my race, but as I grow into a more mature Christian, my peripheral vision has expanded somewhat to include the fellow participants in pursuit of the same eternal acquisition; a prize and goal set and already purchased before the beginning of the ancients by the shed blood of the lamb. There is no escaping my predestination; it is already playing out before my very eyes.
Each member of my church and family has been specifically put here to influence me in their own diverse way. Were they all the same I would not grow in specific areas, or see all things as I ought, but as it is, each quiet demeanor or sunny, smiling face rises up when I need them most and do their ordained duty in ministering, whether they know it or not, to my spiritual needs at that moment. Would that it did not take bitter trials to acknowledge, against my pride, that God never called us to run the race alone.
Two are better than one,
Because they have a good reward for their labor.
For if they fall, one will lift up his companion.
But woe to him who is alone when he falls,
For he has no one to help him up.
Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm;
But how can one be warm alone?
Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him.
And a threefold cord is not quickly broken.Ecclesiastes 4:9-12
Anna