Autumns' Calling

One of my long-time favorite seasons is AUTUMN.

With the exception of the craziness of school starting and the overwhelming, paralyzing feeling of the new school year and fearing the morning routine of running late despite what I would call major prep the night before…AUTUMN, is like no other season in my book.

AUTUMN doesn’t have to make a HUGE “I’m here” announcement.  It is a whisper.  It’s a gentle change.  Clearly different,but oh.so.subtle.  The sun goes to sleep sooner and it has no problem sleeping in a bit later.  The hot, stuffy air becomes cool, sweet and refreshing.

It is crunchy leaves underfoot. It is sipping on fresh hot apple cider as you walk your little trick or treaters around the neighborhood, it is football {like it or NOT!!!}…and it is the anticipation of the Holidays peeking around the corner.

For me, it is as though Autumn has it’s very own calling card.  A simple card, really.  One without loud print, squiggly filigree, and a million different fonts. It is as though it beckons an invitation for stillness, for quiet…a small pocket of your time to pause and slow down. 

What is not to LOVE about calling cards, anyway?  It is the GIVER that desires a relationship.  A reminder that they care enough to see you again, that you are worth investing in, that you matter and are important.  God’s calling card to us is His Word…and within His Word, He refers to seasons.   He knows our lives are filled with change.

 

I don’t think that God made a mistake in starting His creation in a garden!!  There is so much to learn from the life of a gardener…and when I think of gardens I think of Autumn.  It has always fascinated me.

I think it is the reality of it that I like.  It is the imperfection and the yucky and the far from glamorous that is truly intriguing.  It is the jaunt out to the garden that was the envy of everyone on the block, not that long ago.  It was the garden that boasted the most fragrant of crops, the biggest and the best, that has become the nastiest sight almost overnight.  It is no longer brimming with beauty, but has almost become hideous.  All that seems to be left is the produce that didn’t quite make the cut.  There are the few  rotting veggies that were pulled off by helping chubby baby hands, bug-infested tomatoes that have enticed the neighbor dog and squirrels that were tantalized by the garden’s offerings…now ready for the compost.  YES, the compost!!!

Farmers that know what they are doing do not waste the scraps.  To them, it is necessary to use the material for next year’s glorious garden.  Indeed, it’s true.  It’s like gold.  A precious commodity and balm to nurture next spring’s beautiful crop.

I like to think that the best farmers in the world are great composters…and you know what?  I happen to know THE GREAT COMPOSTER.  He specializes in using every last bit of what we think of as debris and even has a use for the fallen leaves of AUTUMN that seem to have served their purpose and are so carelessly thrown away.  However, even the clippings are used as blankets to tuck the garden into bed for the dark, bitter cold days and nights that lie ahead.  The GREAT COMPOSTER has amazing resolve to take impeccable care of what belongs to Him.

If your life is feeling like a big heap of worthlessness, a life filled with no fruit, no beauty to speak of and unsightly weeds that you, yourself can’t even look at…allow THE GREAT COMPOSTER to take the scraps from your garden bed and, in His time, with His expertise…use it for next year’s crop.  Take His que and put some of the unsightly things to rest and wait patiently for what spectacular things He has for His new crop come Spring.  

I think if THE GREAT COMPOSTER were to give me His personal calling card today, it would differ from AUTUMN’S CALLING CARD.  I think it would still be simple…but it would be dirty, blood-stained and definitely hand-written.  I think it would be a bit tattered…and I think He would  be super-generous with His stack of cards.  He would give me plenty of extras to give out to those who are in need…just like me.  I think He might kiss me on the forehead and assure me that it is okay to be still with anticipation for the miracle of new growth to come.

I may be a bit hesitant to the miracle He has promised, but I think He would quietly remind me that it wont be long before the yuckies will be just right for the new soil that will produce beauty again…or maybe beauty for the very first time.

It is in the quiet days of Autumn when you are feeling alone and fragile that you will hold HIS calling card and read HIS words over and over again “My GRACE is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” 2 Corinthians 12:9

And when the birds start chirping again, the sun goes to bed later and its sleeping in is no longer an option, the hot sipping cider is replaced with fresh-squeezed lemonade…your soul will soar knowing THE GREAT COMPOSTER has turned what was debris into something marvelous to ensure your garden bed will brim with new life, beauty and purpose.  

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