Autumn

This is a beautiful time of year for the artist in me, but I also see so much other beauty in spiritual ways as well. You know, our lives are like the changing leaves and seasons.  So many things come and go in our lives and bring beauty with them.  Some of the beauty remains like the evergreens that look so alive in the winter time.  Some of it is only here for a season and leaves behind memories of the beauty they gave to us while they were here. As an artist, I like to think of God as the artist, and the autumn trees remind me of a painter's pallette.  One day I would love to go to the New England states to see the autumn there.  Just to visit for a time in the fall, and long enough to give my camera a workout.

I'm also reminded of the cycles of life when autumn comes.  Everything only lasts for a season.  As the scripture says, "To everything there is a season...a time to be born and a time to die."  It occurs to me as I type this that the seasons of the year are very much like seasons of life.  Spring is all about new beginnings.  Like newborn babies everything is fresh and new and so full of beauty and color. As spring fades into summer, some of the newness of things wears off and we just try to endure the heat of life and all the things that come with it. For some, it's a drought, for others fires, and still more floods.  As summer comes to a close, we just try to endure the final heat and the storms that come along bringing back some of the moisture lost in the drought of summer.  We probably feel a bit like the grass at the end of summer--a bit browned and crispy and lacking enthusiasm for life.  Then comes autumn.  A time of renewed faith and enthusiasm for the beauty of life.  A time when maturity comes along and we can look back on those storms and droughts and see the beauty that was really there all along and we missed because of the suffering.  Autumn can be a time of revival and seeing things through new eyes. As the leaves begin to fall we realize we are nearing the winter where it's cold and dreary.  yet at the same time it's so very peaceful. Have you ever listened to the snow fall?  Sounds odd, but next time it snows really listen.  It's the most calm and peaceful quiet feeling I have ever know.  I love that time of winter.

Well, I'm babbling now, but those are my thoughts on the seasons.  Each one is remarkable and beautiful for what they are.  Embrace each one and enjoy the life God has given each of us.