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The amazing allure of autumn
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AP Photo/Al Grillo
"Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever; wisdom and power are his. He changes times and seasons; he sets up kings and deposes them. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning. He reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with him." -Daniel 2:20-22 (NIV)
There's something so alluring about the fall season, isn't there? It's the time of year when it's still a little bit warm outside in the middle of the day, but cooler in the evening and early morning hours. For many of us, once we feel the first delightful, cool autumn day of the season, we are ready to throw in our flip flops and t-shirts and replace them with long sleeves, sweaters, and woolly outerwear.
Here in the DC area, we had what seemed like a little fall preview a couple of weeks ago, with some days almost too cool to leave our windows open. Now we're back to summer-like temperatures, and if you're anything like me, you're ready to see them go already! Can you tell that I don't like hot weather? All of the seasons are beautiful in their own right, as created by God. Fall, however, strikes me as the most beautiful of all of the seasons. I love the warm colors of the fall season...I love the crispness in the air. I love to walk in my front door and be greeted by a delectable fragrance like baked apple pie or cinnamon and brown sugar. I love to see the sky set ablaze by the brilliant colors of the changing leaves, and spend a day with my husband just driving, looking, appreciating and thanking God for the amazing beauty of the earth, which we are so blessed to be able to enjoy.
The only downside to autumn (in my opinion) is when Daylight Savings rolls around and we have to set the clocks back. Trust me, it's not having the extra hour of sleep that I don't like. I am not a fan of the darkness settling in so much earlier than it does during the summer. I don't like feeling like I should be getting into bed at seven o'clock every night...but I can't have the beauty of fall without the impending earlier sunsets. I try not to question God's design, and love fall for what it is. More importantly, I try to reflect on this beautiful, alluring season, and its relationship to something even more beautiful and alluring...our majestic God, who paints the most beautiful scenes on the canvas that is the earth He created, and the canvases that just so happen to be our hearts.
In the before mentioned verses from Daniel, we are painted a picture of who God is to us: powerful, full of wisdom, the one who changes the seasons and the time, the one who blesses His children with glorious gifts, blesses His children with wisdom and knowledge, reveals things to His children when they are in darkness, and shows them light, for He is the light...the way...the truth. We are God's beloved children, and He is faithful to us, even when we aren't faithful to Him. How simply and utterly confusingly amazing is that? Here's a less confusing truth: friends, there is no greater love than God's love for us. Now, how amazingly, simply, wonderfully, divinely and beautifully alluring is that?
Fill up on the lovely, crisp autumn air that is our Father God. Let your heart be splashed with bold, vibrant colors, and allow your life to be molded into something beautiful. God is the painter, the potter and the air we need to survive. Allow yourself to be allured by this lovely autumn, and God's even lovelier promises to us, because they'll keep you going strong much longer than a pumpkin spice latte.
Prayer: Gracious God, thank you for the amazing beauty of your creation. Please help us to open ourselves up to you, like flowers that open so gently in the morning sun. Fill us with a holy fire and set our hearts ablaze with love, because we want nothing more than to burn and shine brilliantly for you, Lord. All we are is yours. Amen.
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