Lessons from a Season I Love

Fall is my favorite season. I never knew fall until 5 years ago when I moved to Central Virginia. The fall season here is more than I could have ever imagined loving. But this year, I've contemplated some spiritual lessons I could take away from my favorite season, and tonight, I'm going to share a few with you.

• This time of year, the trees experience change by losing the most identifiable feature of a tree and do not freak out about it. It reminds me of Matthew 6, when Jesus talks about the lilies of the field. They don't worry about being beautiful and what to wear, and yet they are simply beautiful. In the fall, the leaves fall off the trees and the trees lose part of what identifies them as a tree. How often do we often cling and grasp tightly to things we think are part of us desperate to not lose anything of ourselves? The trees simply let the leaves fall, leaving room for new growth to come in its appropriate season. There is something so refreshing in that for my soul. It almost gives me freedom to let go of things I think I need to keep if it means something new is coming. 

• Today was a grey and dreary day. The leaves have changed and the colors are beautifully brilliant, but there's something about foggy, dreary grey days that make those colors pop out like nothing else. It's startling to see trees of red, yellow, orange or purple against a background of grey. The colors are brighter than days the sun is out because the brilliance of the sun overwhelms the colors. The days that the sun hides for a little while makes those colors come alive and dance. Life is like that sometimes. We have dreary and grey days and seasons, but those, I think are the times when your character has the opportunity to shine. If you're in the midst of a difficult and dreary season...let your colors speak for themselves.

• Change. Fall is all about change. Everything people love about summer is changing. The weather changes, the days shorten, the heat cools, and things just change. And yet, it happens with no stress, no fuss or muss. Without fear or scary things, Change happens slowly, steadily. It creeps up and brings with it, one of the most beautiful seasons of the year. Everything about fall is beautiful. The weather shifts from excruciating heat to relief and calmly cool days and evenings. The trees go from green to empty but in the process,  there is beauty along the way. A huge lesson to learn from fall? Change is beautiful, something that doesn't have to hurt, but can absolutely be an amazing thing. 

• People get so excited about fall. The day that Starbucks releases the fall menu of drinks is a day that people celebrate with social media frenzy. Apple festivals, Fall festivals, cakes, pies, hot drinks, food stuffs of all kinds are for people to delight in. It's all about celebration, this season. People celebrate life, and harvest and plenty in the fall. It is a season marked by celeratory events. This is a lesson we should carry with us always. In the midst of change, in the midst of beauty, in the midst of life....celebrate. I hope that my life reflects this delightful celebration in living.  

So those are just a few things that I've learned from my favorite season. What about you? Do you have lessons you've learned from Fall?