According to the calendar the first day of fall began this year on September 22nd. However, the first technical day of fall felt a lot like a typical day of summer. Today marks the first day of October, and here in Oregon it has begun to feel like fall. The leaves are beginning to change from green to gold, orange, and red. There is a chill in the air each morning and a bite to the breeze in the evening. Fall is the transition from summer to winter; the great bridge between the heat and cold. It is a time for warm mugs of tea and blankets by the fire, with a book by your side. The season brings carved pumpkins, hay rides, caramel apples, spiced cider, football, and mounds of leaves covering the yard.
It is a time when once again we are reminded that life is broken into seasons.
1 There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: 2 a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, 3 a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, 4 a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, 5 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain, 6 a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, 7 a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, 8 a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace. Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
All things in this life will change. It is the design of the universe we live in. As leaves fall to the ground it is our signal that winter is right around the corner. Time for growth will come again in the spring, and until then the trees will go dormant to survive winter’s freeze.
There is a time for everything. A season for every activity under heaven.
As the seasons change we are reminded that new beginnings are also our promise. As fall signals the coming of winter, the change in a season signals the new beginning available to all of us.
Everyone can reach a point in their life were they feel stuck in one season, stuck in a cycle of one emotion. Life can feel rigid and inflexible and unchanging. But this is simply not true. Life is about change. It is the one thing we can always count on… besides death and taxes!
Let this reminder of change today be a reminder of the hope which is available to all of us. Every day is an opportunity to start fresh. Perhaps as fall begins we can be challenged to embrace the change, and look for additional ways to change things in our personal lives.
