“Now Nolia Farms may have had a bountiful tobacco season, and I’m grateful for that, but I’m with Austin. I’m thankful for each one of you and your health.” Pa started to return to the front of the tables, about to wrap things up, but Walynn motioned for him to stop by her chair.

She was subtle when she whispered the petition to Pa. “Dave, the little guys . . .”

Pa’s eyes widened with awareness as he whirled around and focused on the twins. “Oh yeah. You boys got anything you want to thank the good Lord for?”

Those two cuties bent their heads together and communicated much like the older twins often did. Nash nodded and Knox nodded back before he looked at Pa and said, “Miss Walynn.” My heart ached at his admission, and from the whispered aahs and Walynn’s sniffles, everyone else was clearly affected by it too.

Recounting what each person had shared as their harvest, I realized material possessions were not mentioned. Perhaps our group was known for their wrongs, but I’d just witnessed them getting something absolutely right —the true meaning of Harvest Day. I know God smiled down on us right then and there. The tightening in my chest and the goose bumps skirting along my arms testified to that truth. I often reflect on this as one of the most significant church services I’ve ever had the privilege of attending.

Once we settled down, Pa spoke again. “There’s a lot we can learn from King David. He had difficult seasons of life and knew it was okay to cry out to God during them. That cat also knew how to celebrate God in the better seasons after being restored. He wasn’t ashamed to shout out praises, to sing, to dance . . .” Pa turned in a circle, eyeing each person. “How about for today, we choose to leave our heavy baggage back at the entrance of Nolia Farms and just enjoy ourselves.”

Gazing at the diverse crowd, I thought that maybe we were more like King David than not. He didn’t fit the bill as a perfect leader, but he was a child of God. The First Riffraff of Magnolia certainly did not fit the bill of a normal congregation whatsoever, but we were God’s children just the same.

“King David danced to celebrate God’s grace and mercy, so I say we do the same!” Pa walked over to the boom box and cranked that sucker wide-open.

I seriously doubted King David danced to anything like Chaka Khan’s “I Feel for You,” but no one seemed to mind. Everyone was too much in a celebratory mood to fuss over such details.