Fall has come

Photo credits Fall leaves and Apples by Mary Mesikapp

There is something about the fall season. The change of weather from super hot, sticky days, as a fan does not provide relief from the dripping perspiration, heat comes even into the night.

The need for cool, brisk evenings comes to its zenith when the calendar lands on October. Ah, the winds begin to blow more urgently.

It is fall. The days may start off warm, however as the sun begins to drop into its place of rest, the evening temperatures cool bringing comfortable sleep.

The windows are now open for breezy times, the trees rustle as the sound of leaves begin their change of color. Summertime green leaves transform into burgundy, red, orange, yellow and an amazing dark purple. As you crest a hill driving down a country road from the top of the mountain to the valley, the multiple colors can be seen from a distance. It is a breathtaking color palette of leaves from an artists’ brush, the Creator God.

I love fall. Nature cycles from energized green trees, productions of flowers, vegetables and even sunflowers and grain harvests. Farmers combine multiple crops such as wheat, barley, crushing corn stalks for livestock silage and a final crop sugar beets. As temperatures drop, they prepare the land for next years crops.

Apples have been a bumper crop in our area. The sweet, satisfying apples release a juicy taste quenching your thirst and reminding you to add caramel. Yummy! It is fall!

When the winds pick up, blowing in gusts, I see a tumble weed blow across the fields, it picking up another torn dry portion and expand ever larger as it hops along.

Yes, the seasons ( or times) they are a changing, like Bob Dylan sang. It is a time of introspection. A time of considering change in our own life, or maybe holding onto the amazing good things. I am learning not to take anything for granted.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 
1    There is a time for everything,
 and a season for every activity under the heavens:

2     a time to be born and a time to die,
 a time to plant and a time to uproot,
3     a time to kill and a time to heal,
 a time to tear down and a time to build,
4     a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance,
5     a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain   from embracing,
6     a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away,
7     a time to tear and a time to mend,
 a time to be silent and a time to speak,
8     a time to love and a time to hate,
 a time for war and a time for peace.

As the leaves shrivel further they begin to drop from the trees. Piles form and swirl as the gusty winds begin again, it is a restless example of things never staying still for long. Time brings change.

Life is as constant and moving as the leaves. The four seasons remind me to be grateful for transitions: winter, spring, summer and fall. Each season has a purpose just like life.

Leaves remind me as they fall to the ground, drop the old ways. Shriveling leaves, can represent limiting life because choices have caused me to step away from the source of life. There is still time to be made new and alive again.

There is another season to navigate. Get ready because winter can be a time of rest.

Daniel 2: 20 - 25   
Daniel said: 
20 “Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever; wisdom and power are his.
21 He changes times and seasons; he deposes kings and raises up others.
     He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning.
22 He reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what lies in darkness,
    and light dwells with him

Fall into the arms of the Creator God. He is wise.