Seasons

Frost on the ground and a late-rising sun. Leaves that tease me with hints of change. That last minute decision to grab a cardigan as I'm running out the door. My favorite season has arrived. The one of burnt and deepened color, when the dance between warm days and crisp nights begins. The one of apples and pumpkins, scarecrows and hayrides. The one that reminds me that death is the first step towards life...

That a leaf is sometimes no more beautiful than when it is hanging on to a branch that is bare.

This season reminds my heart that my Savior has a plan and a purpose for all of this - everything we see and everything we don't. That He is living and active, even when the leaves begin to fall. That there are mysteries hidden under the soil, beyond the reach of the extended shadows, tucked inside the barren trees.

That there is nothing to fear.

For the beauty of the earth, for the beauty of the skies
For the love which from our birth, over and around us lies,
Lord of all, to Thee we raise
This our hymn of grateful praise.

For the beauty of each hour, of the day and of the night
Hill and vale, and tree and flower, sun and moon and stars of light,
Lord of all, to Thee we raise
This our hymn of grateful praise.

- - -

My arms are ready to hold my daughter.

We are counting down the last few days, and relishing our remaining time together as a family of two. At times, the gratefulness overwhelms me. These blessings that God has given... a husband who is home, a family who loves us well, a job that fulfills, a house that feels like home... and our sweet baby, almost here.

Autumn presents me each year with the beauty of a vivid reality I cannot understand... the contrast that happens when life begins to intermingle with death, and my emotions respond with awakening. The contrasts outdoors highlight the contrasts within my world, within my heart... the prayers answered exist along with those that still remain unanswered. The flourishing relationships stand beside those that still lie broken.

Autumn strips off the leaves, and lays the branches bare... for the purpose of restoring life. And it does the same for me. It always has.

- - -

Throughout this past year - like every other before it - the Lord has cared for and grown our family in each season. I have known fullness, brokenness, happiness, grief, healing, struggle, and wholeness. And as every year before it, through the melodies and silences of each season, He has not failed to speak.

But it is often when the leaves begin to fall, that I learn to listen most. It is when the shadows lengthen that I grow to understand the drawing safety of the light.

I am grateful.

Whether the branches are barren, or the flower is in bloom - whether the sky hangs cold and gray, or opens up wide and blue - whether life is hibernating in the darkness or basking in the sunshine... He is faithful, in every season.

For the joy of human love - brother, sister, parent, child,
Friends on earth, and friends above -
Pleasures pure and undefiled.
Lord of all, to Thee we raise
This our hymn of grateful praise.

For each perfect gift of Thine, to our race so freely given,
Graces human and divine, flowers of earth and buds of heaven,
Lord of all, to Thee we raise
This our hymn of grateful praise.

Lord of all, to Thee we raise...
This our hymn of grateful praise.