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.