Autumn

Wow!  I find it hard to believe that summer is over and that the autumn season officially began this last Saturday.  I think that the reality of the change came to me as I was longingly looking at some beautiful tall Redwoods that line the parameter of the golf course across the street from our neighborhood and noticed that some of the large Maple trees nearby were sporting their fall red and golden hues. 

This season of the year seems to clearly announce its arrival with a definite change in the air about us.  It just feels different.  It even smells different!  Over the weekend the wind started to blow and with it the leaves began to drop along with the constant ker-plunk of acorns falling from the multitude of Oak tress that surround our house.  There is a unique cool crispness that’s in the air as the sun begins to peek over the nearby mountain ridge in the mornings and in no time at all we’ll have to grab a sweater before we venture out after dark!   And even though the summer months are by far my favorite time of year, I must confess that the first few days of autumn always flood my heart with warm poignant memories.

I recall the numerous trips that my wife and I would take with our kids to an apple ranch west of the nearby town of Sebastopol and walk through the orchards, grab a cup of steaming hot cider as we perused the unusual trinkets, boxes of freshly picked apples and other items in the gift shop that takes over one of their barns during the harvest time.  On the way to the car we would frolic with the kids with a romp through their funky little kids play zone outside the barn.  Then there was the huge Harvest party at the church, the fantastic Thanksgiving dinners with the relatives and finally the joys of the whole Christmas season.

Autumn is also the time of year where I take an account of where we have been over the last year.  What went well, what not so well.  What lessons I’ve learned and how to avoid any similar missteps in the months ahead.  Then I begin to look forward to the New Year and start praying in earnest over our goals and plans that will go into action after January 1^st. 

As you begin to look back over the last year and then forward into the new one ahead, I would encourage you to take the words of the Apostle Paul to heart as he shared a lesson with the church at Corinth.  He taught them that the greatest way to overcome any evil, any set back and any attack is through the actions of LOVE.  In conclusion he said that LOVE “Trusts God always, always looks for the best” and that “LOVE never fails.”  (I Corinthians 13:7-8 combination of the Message Bible and NKJV)

One of my favorite and most meaningful things that I like to do whenever I preside over a wedding service is to look deep into the eyes of the couple standing before me and say those all inclusive words that “LOVE NEVER FAILS!”  They are not only the key to a successful long, lasting marriage, but also for each and every one of the plans and activities that we pursue each year in our daily lives.

Have a wonderful autumn season.  Enjoy the change in the weather, the turning and falling of the leaves (and even raking them up!), the cool, crisp morning and evenings, the fires in the fireplace, snuggling with a loved one, holding a warm cup of coffee, tea, hot Chocolate or hot apple cider in your cold, wind blown hands, and giving thanks to God!

Stay in tune to His Word and keep asking yourself… “What am I expecting today?”