Autumn

I had dinner with a friend the other night, and the topic turned to the changing seasons.  Living in Florida, we are spoiled by constant summer and look forward to the pumpkin spice lattes at Starbucks and Thanksgiving decorations at Pier 1 Imports to remind us that this strange fall season is soon approaching. When I was younger, I longed for the autumn months – the cooler temperatures and changing  colors always touched my soul and prepared me for the inevitable winter and holiday season. Not to mention, I loved jeans and boots!  But, there was always something else, a little bit more meaningful, to this time of year…

Autumn is about renewal.

We’ve spent the early months of the year attempting to wind down from a busy holiday season, railroading through spring to make quarterly and fiscal year targets, stressing through tax returns, and yelling at our kids to finish their homework so they can move on to the next grade.  We work hard to earn time off, take vacations in the hot summer months when school is out and travel long distances and go and see and do and explore and take pictures and post to Instagram and visit family and tag your friends on Facebook and tweet and Snapchat in between and go some more… and…

We need an autumn to simply catch our breath!

This is the season to be mindful of the path.  To slow down many paces, if not halt altogether, inhale the cool air, and sneeze from the overindulgence of nutmeg and clove potpourri.  It is a time to recharge and prepare for the holiday season.  No, this is not a time to start yelling at one another as to who is going to which relative’s house to spend Thanksgiving.  No, this is not the time to fight over those people you will be staying up all night to get in line first at Best Buy on Black Friday.  No, this is not the time to start making the entirely too long Christmas lists and exceeding your maximum credit lines on your credit cards.  None of that matters.

At dinner, my friend reminded me of why autumn is in our lives – “Autumn is about family, our blessings, and recharging.”  We take autumn to remember our past, reflect, and renew our promises to ourselves, our families, our future.  “Autumn” is mentioned in the Bible in Jude 1:12 :

These are blemishes on your love feasts, as they carouse fearlessly and look after themselves. They are waterless clouds blown about by winds, fruitless trees in late autumn, twice dead and uprooted.

These fake teachers mentioned in this Chapter of Jude are compared to the “fruitless trees in late autumn”, which should be a season of harvest and abundance.  A season that we should look to in examination of our gratitude and renew our mindfulness in all aspects of our life.  It is a time of personal reflection and  change.  We are close upon the holidays, times born of love, thankfulness, and light.  These are holidays based in family, remembrance of Him, and our commitment to our faith, in God and ourselves.  We hold our loved ones a little closer, make those phone calls instead of a text, and share our gratitude with the world.  Giggle at the nostalgia and bask in the blessings.  Uncover the joy in this time. Uncover the love in abundance.

In our world of constant distraction and noise, it is vitally important that we take this autumnal season to contemplate more, love a little deeper, and cleanse ourselves of the diversions, at least for a little while.

Slow down now.

Look up.

The leaves are changing.

And so are you…