Beautiful Seasons

I love autumn. The searing heat of summer is finally behind us, for the most part. In some regions the trees wave vibrantly. Coffee shops fill the air with the fragrance of pumpkin spice. Ripe juicy apples promise us crisp bites, cider, and warm pie. This year especially it seems like perhaps, perhaps this long season of angst is moving behind us. We are developing a new rhythm to our life. The air seems full of hope.

Everything changes. Just like when summer begins to slowly morph into fall, some changes are lush and beautiful. Some changes leave us feeling as if we are in a season without hope. Sometimes it is a matter of perspective. One person sees the red, flared maple leaf heralding the end of 100-degree days and predicting holidays with loved ones and pumpkin pie, where another sees a tree with leaves dying from inadequate sunlight predicting higher electric bills, slush-filled streets, and broken budgets. Same tree. 

Solomon said that God made everything beautiful in its time. He also said no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. Just because we cannot see the beauty on our own, easily, immediately, does not mean it is not there.  

Change is hard, no matter the change. This season, as change presses down upon us, let’s take it to God and pray that he shows us the beauty of the season we are in. 

God, thank you for the seasons. Thank you for a world where change is possible. Please help me see the beauty of this season.

Throughout This Day: Thank God often for the beauty of this season as you go through your daily tasks.