Autumn

I have traveled across South Carolina and even ventured into North Carolina several times during the past six weeks. Each trip has given me an opportunity to enjoy some phase of fall foliage. With each experience, I have reflected on what this change of seasons might mean. The following quote captures my thoughts:

"In Autumn's vibrant colors there are reminders of summer's fullness of life, of winter's impending bleakness, and of the prospect of spring not far beyond. Autumn compels us to think about life's transience and continuity all in one."

Allen M. Young, Small Creatures and Ordinary Places

Recently at Lake Junaluska, I heard Joyce Rupp speak of how it is her custom in autumn to evaluate what needs to be relinquished in her life. She said that sometimes possessions weigh her down. At other times it is her character flaws that burden not only her, but everyone who surrounds her as well. She said, "I look into my closet and my heart each autumn and ask if there is anything I could surrender that would help me become a freer person?"

"For everything there is a season" (Ecclesiastes 3:1) so maybe we need to claim the meaning of autumn in our lives.