I suppose if I had to pick, Autumn would be my favorite season of the year. While I enjoy the fresh energy of Spring, the warmth and vibrancy of Summer, and the festivities of a cool dusky Winter, it is the crisp blaze of Autumn that most pulls at my heart. I love the crunch of the leaves, the crisp mornings, the ripened harvest, and the glory of letting go.
Autumn is for me the most thought-provoking of the seasons. It is a time of fruitful reflection. I find myself nostalgic, lost in thought, wistful and grateful. Another year has come and gone. So much has changed. So much remains.
It’s been a hard year. So much has been lost. Sadness sinks in. How I wish this pandemic was just a bad dream, but it is terribly real. Like the trees, we’ve had to release so much, let it fall away. There is an unshakable sadness to Autumn. Everything falls.
But it’s been a beautiful year too. There is kindness and mercy along the way. These confusing days are still a gift. Life, breath, laughter, tears—all these things are in fact mercies. The harvest still comes in. Blessings abound. Gratitude rises. And even in the letting go, there is freedom. Glory unleashes as everything falls.
Autumn reminds us of God’s enduring faithfulness. In the good years and the bad, in years marbled with both, our God’s faithfulness remains steadfast and true. There is gladness in the gravity. Our Father gives and takes away. With Job we choose to say, “Blessed be His name.”
You are loved, more than you know!
Pastor Philip
Thank you for those encouraging words. Yes, God is trustworthy and is faithful during these unusual times. And thank God, he continues to be patient with us as we ask, “how long Lord, how long.”
I am reminded of a song, “Hold On To God’s Unchanging Hand.” As things change daily around us, thank God, we can hold on to His hand.
God bless you Pastor Philip. You and your family also are loved.
Yes, tears are a mercy. And inability to experience them is a loss…and a debilitating grief hard to bear. Wouldn’t it be a blessing if Jesus’ Logos-minded (1 Cor. 2:16) followers were the prologetical discoverers of healing treatment for Lachrymal Disability?