Ummmm....Fall

Well, thinking about my very first post of substance, I could not figure out a jumping off point. So I guess we will start here....I simply love the fall. The cooler weather (I hate the cold but it is always fun at first), SOUP, football (as background noise for a long Sunday afternoon nap...who am I kidding. I have not napped in over a year), the brilliant leaves changing (man is God an incredible artist or what?), opening your windows, fall smelling candles (like pumpkin spice...yum!)....I really do love it. About 5 years ago, I was at a K-Life women's retreat in October and we were having alone time. I was sitting out on a picnic table looking at the lake made clear by the thinning trees. I felt God gave me a clear picture of why He created seasons. This is what I journaled....
As I sit here, watching God’s creation ready for winter, He has shown me that in all things abides a purpose. I have been watching dead leaves fall from the trees thinking they look just like me. The dry, brittle leaves are falling to the ground, just like the empty, scarred layers are being shed in my own life. It is a process…part of this journey. So cleansing, so right. But then, as I look closer at the trees, down the hill and near the lake, they stand bare, awaiting winter and I feel death. Why must the leaves at their most beautiful shining moments be shed? The Spirit then revealed the process does not end there, it begins there. It all must start with the death of an old, meaningless life.
I feel sorry for the trees…For I know just where they stand...and what comes next. They stand there exposed, laying bare for all to see, during the one season of extremes.They must endure the cold, biting wind, abrasive to their newly barren exterior. I know of standing there, playing dead in hibernation. Just waiting for life to begin again.Feeling no meaning, only death.
And then, slowly, you feel the season begin to change. It is so slight you wonder if it was imagined. You do not drastically see change, but before you realize it…life has begun again. You have a new exterior, green and full of life. And finally, as the season change again, you see God work His magic...You see His creativity and perfection burst forth!…For to your life, color has appeared! And you realize, none of where you stand, vibrant and beautiful, would have manifested had God not killed you first.