Fall

     I’ve always been told, “Be careful what you ask for, because you just might get it.” I’ve been saying for the past few weeks that I couldn’t wait for the weather to CHANGE because I love the fall season. Needless to say, the high whistling wind was my extra added bonus that showed up unexpectedly. The CHANGE in the leaves indicates that a new season is coming. The air becomes crisp and the humidity diminishes. Fall causes people to automatically slow down and enjoy the intimacy of home. Fall is a time to reflect and prepare. Some of the most beautiful holidays come in the colder months. Unfortunately, this is when most of us spend the most money. If we think about it, fall represents the beginning and the end. It’s a time to wrap up everything in the current year in preparation for what’s to come. Most people do “spring cleaning”. I actually like “fall cleaning” because I don’t want the dust particles from the current year to meet me in my future. As I listen to the wind this morning, I think of it as the opposition of all of the goals that are left unfulfilled. Periodically, the wind stops, the birds chirp and the sun shines through. This is an indication that all is not lost. Nothing in life worth having is easy to obtain. To win, we must work through the wind. Nobody enjoys obstacles, but the purpose of them is to make us appreciate the process, as well as the promise. During a snow storm, if you work extremely hard clearing out a parking space, it is totally unacceptable for someone to come and take your spot that didn’t help you clear it out. You will put chairs, couches, TV’s and everything else in that parking space because you worked hard to remove the snow/obstacle, and as far as you’re concerned, it belongs to you. You protect your investment. When it’s cold outside we cover up with extra layers of clothes to protect our bodies from the elements. We adjust to the reality of the current weather forecast. Every season has a purpose. The cold weather clears the air of bacteria/germs because bacteria can only live in moist environments but die when the air is near freezing. If you notice, whenever there is some sort of health scare, it always starts during the spring/summer months. Swine flu is the perfect example of this. Once it got cold outside, the number of reported cases were few or non-existent. Fall leads us into when-ter. This is not a typo. I wrote it that way to emphasize what the season represents to me. When-ter generates the question of when will we enter into the new season? After the deep freeze, accompanied by snow, and very cold temperatures, we look forward to the beauty of springtime. Spring and summer are the guaranteed promise of the beautiful flowers, blossoming trees, warm temperatures and sunshine. This is a time to enjoy the result of the work you put in during fall and winter. Everything in life happens in cycles. We all have had seasons when things were great and seasons that were not so favorable. We must understand that all seasons are temporary and they must change to move us to the next level. Different situations require a different level of endurance. You can’t wear fashion boots in a 20 foot snow storm. You also can’t wear shorts outside if it is 5 degrees, at least you shouldn’t. All of us have a different preference concerning weather, but the reality is that storms, just like problems can occur at any time. Some storms are predicted and others happen with very little warning or we don’t recognize the signs. Some of us prefer hot weather and some of us prefer cooler temperatures. Just know that after the storms is when we can see the most beautiful rainbow and most of the time, there is never any obvious indication that the storm ever happened, even if it left a little debris.

John 16:21-22-"Whenever a woman is in labor she has pain, because her hour has come; but when she gives birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish because of the joy that a child has been born into the world. "Therefore you too have grief now; but I will see you again, and your heart will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you.
11/2/14