I adore the season of fall.
The crisp air amid the warmth of colors.
The crunchy leaves under the soft hue of the grey and blue sky.
It is a time of calm.
A time that contrasts the rush of summer.
And a time that effortlessly causes even the unlikely to pause and reflect.
This season calls the new to become old and demands the old to patiently wait to be reborn in the spring.
Autumn finds beauty in strenuous change and discovers grace in death.
If looked at closely enough, fall is a reminder of how God beautifies His beloved.
The movement of God leads to a slow whither, similar to the trees in autumn.
Though they do not fully die, fragments of them begin to fall away.
This dwindling can be seen as distressing to some, but it is just the opposite.
It is God’s magnificent way of altering the heart and mind to bear greater fruit.
He calls us to Himself, moving us to abandon the instability of our familiar ways.
And in response to our willingness, He orchestrates the old falling and the new rising.
A precious gift to those He loves.
A time ago, it was summer, and we existed in the uncomfortable heat of life, thirsting for water and covering.
We not only craved relief for our bodies, but our hearts also yearned for a nourishing dew that would reach our souls.
With this purposeful burden came our willingness to bend in humble response to God’s will; in return,
He gave us fall.
Here in the fall, God makes a home.
He calls our unholy ways to mimic the leaves.
The once intense pieces now alter in color and fall in command of His wind.
Then, they land on the ground finally to allow space for the best of what God is.
Winter will soon arrive not to end our days but to hibernate our souls.
The old leaves of our minds and hearts have fallen and become no more due to the unyielding elements of truth’s chill.
The old has now entirely passed away.
Spring then settles, and there it is, the new hope, the new sureness, the new spiritual fruit that was once absent has now sprouted and been woven into our being.
We are not the same.
We have become more gracious and kind.
Our selfishness has been traded for service, and we miraculously find joy in the places we once wept.
We are a new creation in Him, to never be the same.
Though it is spring, the cycle of seasonal growth will begin again.
Growth is complex and encompasses both the beautiful and the ugly.
Yet, how graced we are to have a God who loves us so much that He will continue to renew and refine us season after season, day after day.
For He is faithful to complete the work He has begun in us.
Here is to a cold yet purposed winter and the gift of extraordinary beauty in Him.
2 Corinthians 5
- lr