For the Love of October and Family

Fall is a favorite season for our family. God’s beautiful artistry can be seen all over the landscape! I saw a great quote this week; “October is my favorite color” and I have to agree! Today our little tribe of twelve will make our annual pilgrimage to a pumpkin patch. It’s become a tradition for us, beginning sixteen years ago when we were expecting our first grandchild. Our younger daughter and her husband were not yet married and they both worked in Omaha so the four (nearly five) of us made a trip to spend the day with them. We ended up at a pumpkin patch of all places! The day turned out to be really special and left us with a lot of sweet memories. Here is one of my favorite pictures taken that day. Our two daughters, back to back in a corn field, each with a “little pumpkin” tucked under her shirt. The pumpkin on the left, our oldest grandson Mitch, would make his appearance less than a month later. He’ll start driving next month but when I look at this image, it seems like yesterday. 

 As we made our plans this week, we talked about the history of it. We’re not sure that we have made the trip every single year, we may have missed a year or two when the kids were tiny. Some years we’ve had four generations along when great grandpa “Papa Nick” and great “Grammy”  Eileen have joined the festivities. One special October “Papa Steve” got a special birthday gift- a beautiful red- haired granddaughter! This gave us all even more reason to celebrate our special tradition. By this time next year half of our grandkids will be teenagers and we know full well that the day will come when they’ll think it’s kid stuff and not cool, but amazingly enough, so far it’s something they all enjoy. Life is like that- a series of chapters. Each is meant to be savored in the moment and cherished for the memories.

Every parent thinks each one of our children is the most precious, beautiful creation ever born and does the most adorable things. We can hardly contain our loving feelings and gush over every sweet little antic. Some days are deliciously poignant, indescribably sweet, and we wish we could freeze the present moment forever. I got to thinking how much God loves us, His children the very same way. I believe that he loves to watch us enjoying His creation and witnessing the incredibly overflowing feelings of love we have for our family. And I’ll just bet He thinks all of us are the cutest things ever! He relishes seeing the time we spend enjoying His word, His world and our families. With all my heart  I believe that God lavishes His love on us and that it brings Him great joy when He sees us loving  life.

In Deuteronomy 7:9 we read:“Know therefore that the LORD your God, He is God, the faithful God, who keeps His covenant and His lovingkindness to a thousandth generation with those who love Him and keep His commandments.”

Here’s a photo from last October- a truckload of family enjoying life and each other. I can’t wait to get another helping.

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Articles by Betty Streff

Betty Streff

Betty Streff began her career as a customer service representative for a large corporation in Omaha. Four years later she found herself to be a farm wife in a small rural community with limited opportunities for women. After a humbling self assessment, she listed her assets as talents for sketching, sewing, and the natural ability to strike up conversations with complete strangers. Using these and her optimistic nature, she began stitching up some bibs and pillows for a craft show, who wouldn't? Over the next 25 years she became a serial entrepreneur obsessed with studying faith, spirituality, leadership, motivation, and management as she developed her businesses. Betty has spent the last few years working in corporate America in the hospitality and manufacturing world and she continues to immerse herself in the study of what makes people tick. The explosive growth in the relatively recent science of positive psychology fascinates her. Betty devours everything she can find on the subject and is especially intrigued with people who thrive no matter the circumstances and in discovering ways that happiness and optimism can be learned. She is currently exploring ways of sharing and cultivating the exciting possibilities with both individuals and businesses. She and her husband Steve have been married 45 years and are blessed with 2 incredible daughters, 2 fantastic sons-in-law and 6 amazing grandchildren.