Try This Again

I've never been a daily blogger, or a weekly blogger, or a monthly blogger. If you've looked at my blog recently, you could say I'm not a blogger at all. Consistently, I'm a rare blogger. My last blog was the beginning of Summer and now we're into Autumn. Recently it's been raining...a lot. The rain was depressing to me. Felt like I was in the mid-Winter blahs a few months early. Well today is a cloudless, sunny day. There's a coolness in the air. Down our street there's a tree whose leaves are turning a brilliant red-orange color. The tree leaves nearest us are turning a less than brilliant brown. As the leaves all around us change it is usually breath-taking. The hues are beautiful. I know someone has said this before but it hit me today that these leaves, at the height of their beauty, are nearing their demise. As they turn color, they won't be staying on the trees long. They will indeed 'FALL'. But, it doesn't mean that the tree itself is dying. It is necessary for the trees to lose their leaves to survive the coming winter. God's design is mysterious at times. As winter approaches many animals' fur thickens in anticipation of the colder temperature but for most trees they seem to lose their covering and lay bare for the winter onslaught.  Maybe we can learn from these extreme plans of God for our lives. Are there things in our lives, maybe even beautiful things, that need to fall from our lives as we approach the next season in our lives? Are there layers of our lives that need to be added for our protection in this life change moment? Paul mentioned something about putting off those things that so easily entangle us. This is suppose to be a daily routine in our lives but maybe, like fall and spring cleaning, now is a good time to let some things fall from our lives. And what are a few things we can add...maybe an extra measure of love, grace, mercy, faith, and kindness. No matter how hard we try, our life seasons will change. Most trees seem to do this gracefully. Never heard a tree scream as its leaves are flying off in a strong wind. Also, never seen leaves protest before leaving the life-giving branch of their tree. We can also learn that as God changes our lives we should accept it gracefully.