The fall is upon us and very soon the leaves will turn all shades of amazing colors. This time of year is spectacular to behold – but it also reminds me that change is upon us. It is the end of summer – the end of a season – the end of life as we know it. Fall is a sign that we are entering a period of rest. As the trees drop their leaves and bear their branches in the cold darkness of winter, we will long for new life with the reassurance and hope that it will come.
I love change. I know that makes me strange, but I always have. I grew up in a military family that moved, and while I didn’t have to relocate as often or as far as some military families, it was enough to set the tone of transition for my life. In the early years I became someone who appreciated the ending of one thing and the fresh start of something new. I came to love the opportunity for a new room, a new school, a new set of friends.
That love of change extended into my adulthood as I became a teacher. One of my favorite aspects of the school year is that it has an ending – and a new beginning. I have been able to translate that concept into each day as it comes to an end and then a new day begins. The end becomes a beginning, death becomes new life, change becomes a fresh start, putting away the old opens up the opportunity for a new creation!
As painful as change can be, it is a sign of the grace of our good God. Just as He has planned for the autumn leaves to fall, He has allowed things to end in our lives as well. Though we cannot see the work of new life forming within the tree, He is working in the secret places of those trees and us to bring about new life that will show itself in season like the tiny new leaves unfurling in the spring sun. The death of one thing prepares the way for the life of another.
Romans 2:4 asks, “Do you show contempt for the riches of His kindness, forbearance, and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?” It is His love that allows things to come to an end. He knows what we need and He knows how to get us there.
This revelation leads me to ask myself, “Will I see those falling leaves in my life as the love of God preparing me to weather the storms ahead? Or will I stomp my feet and wallow in self-pity, unable to consider that those dry leaves hanging on would simply add weight to my brittle branches in the heavy snows that come during the winter of life? Will I rejoice in the beauty of the colors of change and swirling of leaves blown in the breeze? Or will I tuck my head and grumble at the mess I must clean up as the leaves pile all around me?”
I will choose to see the love – I will remind myself to gaze upon the beauty – I will marvel in awe at the awesome power of God, who is able to turn the end of something old into the beginning of something new! So I will say, “Lord, Let your love fall all around me!”
“See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.” Isaiah 43:19