Greetings from Pittsburgh!

Greetings from Pittsburgh!  No, I have not come to see the Steelers, the Pirates, or even the Penguins.  My lovely first child lives and works here.  It’s a beautiful city.  Add to that the fact that it’s the childhood home of one of my favorite authors, Annie Dillard, and you have a recipe for a good trip! 

All the way up from Chattanooga, I observed a quick-change of the seasons.  I’ve noticed this phenomenon before driving north.  Sometimes it’s spring all over again; this time it’s an earlier fall. I never ever get over the fall leaves.  The Psalmist reminds us that “the heavens declare the glory of God,” and that they do. But so does the earth sometimes. Canadian poet Bliss Carmen wrote, “The scarlet of the maples can shake me like a cry/ of bugles going by.”  I saw some of those scarlet maples on the drive up.  They are truly stunning! 

Yesterday we visited Clayton, the home of industrialist Henry Clay Frick.  (I first read about this home in Dillard’s book, so I was very excited to see it!) By hard work and some good connections, Frick made a lot of money that he used to furnish his impressive home in a grand fashion.  It was fun to see, but even with all his money and influence, Mr. Frick’s beautiful things are only copies of the beauty that is outside the doors of his house.

Today we walked in Frick Park and passed mounds and waves of purple asters, backed by yellow and orange leaves. It just doesn’t get much better. Truly God is a God of beauty and creativity.  Just imagine the magnificent mind and heart behind such loveliness.

I am so grateful for a God who gave the beauties of his creation to everyone, rich and poor alike.  Paul reminds Timothy of this concept in I Timothy 6:17: “Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy.”

I hope you are finding time to enjoy the richness of this lovely season!

 --Sherry Poff