Leaves of Autumn

Once again I am back in the Ozarks to enjoy fall in all it's glory...and what a beautiful season it has been. Bright orange and red leaves, beautiful waterfalls, refreshing sunshine, sacred fellowship, and for good measure, lots of fresh juicy apples which we've been turning into apple-sauce. It truly doesn't get much better than that...

However with fall, there comes a bit of sadness too...for after the leaves have displayed their glory and splendor, they must fall to the ground leaving the the tree branches bare and unsightly. I hate it when all the leaves fall off...makes my heart broken, and yearning for spring when new life will spring forth and appear.

But as I ponder the cycle of the season's and God's plan in our lives, I realize that even though we relish the beauty of Spring and Summer...there would be no spring and summer if some leaves did not fall in the autumn. For as they die and nourish the ground, new life can spring forth. And it is only after the long hard winter that the true beauty of the Spring can truly be seen.

As I've been enjoying the last few beautiful days of fall, I've also been reminded in a new way, that even as the leaves fall off and die, there is a spiritual lesson true for me. I must die daily, yielding myself, my heart and my desires, my will and my way, and be buried in death (death to self and to all that gets in the way of the spiritual life that God is seeking to build)...all this must happen before I can truly live and enjoy the treasures of Spring.

I am reminded of the verses in John 12:24-25 which say:

"Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal."

So while it saddens me to see the leaves fall, I know it is in God's best plan and will, and that because of this time of death, new life is sure to spring forth!

"For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it?" Rom 8:24,25