A Message in the Trees

It seems over the past few days that I have had quite a few friends attending funerals. Over the weekend a man from our community was tragically killed in a motorcycle accident. Another friend's grandpa died, and one of my housemate's boyfriend's grandpa died. A lady at work took a vacation day to attend her best friend's mother's funeral. People die; it's a sad season of life. Please don't stop reading, this isn't a gruesome post, but rather a message of hope.

As I see the trees -- and the colors changing from green to reds, oranges, and golds -- I am reminded that we have hope. For although the leaves wither and fall, we can have confidence that after Autumn and Winter pass, Spring will come, and with it, new life. God is faithful; He always has been and always will be. Spring has never failed us; the leaves always return to life -- life glorious.

If I can take the analogy a step further, God spoke something else to me. Autumn is beautiful, winter is not. During this season, the trees are absolutely gorgeous, but within a few weeks they will be bare and ugly, and the grass will be closer to brown than green. I love the Autumn leaves and I hate to see them pass. In fact, I love the entire season, and I hate to see it pass to the bare cold winter season. I cherish he cool (not cold!) autumn breeze flowing through my open windows. The cherish the crisp and clean smell of fresh hair. I cherish the way God paints the yellow, orange, and red landscape in the trees, and the deep blue in the sky. I cherish the crunching sound of newly fallen leaves beneath my feet as I walk to class in the morning. Because soon, all of these will come to pass.

Cherish each day, because it's another opportunity to learn, to grow, to experience joy and fulfillment, and to pass time with loved ones.

"There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot..."

Ecclesiastes 3:1,2