Autumn

I stepped outside today and couldn't help but smile. Fall is here. A time when scarves sound delightful, apple cider is fresh and your every step plays a part in a beautiful, crunchy symphony. Autumn is my favorite season of the year and I must say that the colors are a big reason for this. When the trees begin to change to a million reds, golds, oranges and browns it is as though God is putting on a color show. Close your eyes, do you feel it? The world is dancing with delight. As I was thinking about the change of seasons the other day, a thought occurred to me, autumn is a time of rest. With spring we see many changes as new things are born and life is happening all around. With summer comes a time of immense growth. And fall, oh sweet beautiful fall, brings rest. Some may look at the changing of the leaves and the onset of cooler weather as a time of death, but it's not. Fall brings a resting period. After months of change and growth fall is like a signal to slow down. I think that this correlates to our lives as well. We all go through springs, times of great change in our life, and summers, periods where we grow and learn. These are great and beautiful times, but to balance it all out we need to rest and reflect. I think that fall is a reminder to all of us to slow down, take a deep breath, look back at the summer and see how we have grown, and then rest. So on this beautiful autumn day, I challenge you to run through the leaves, feel the cool air on your face, breathe deeply of the earth's dusty aroma, and know that God delights in you and is inviting you, to come and rest in Him.

"Autumn's the mellow time. " ~William Allingham


"Everyone must take time to sit and watch the leaves turn."  ~Elizabeth Lawrence

The Puzzle

Do you ever feel like you are walking around carrying a huge box of jumbled up puzzle pieces. You look into the box at the thousands and thousands of pieces and your heart drops. The box feels so heavy and you have simply no idea how to put the pieces together to make a whole. Sometimes you may try to put a piece or two together, and sometimes you just feel like giving up as you shake the box. I have been feeling like that a lot lately, and slowly slowly, the answer is occurring to me. I will never be able to put the puzzle together. Not on my own. It is a task simply too great for me. But just when the discouragement sets in, hope appears. Hope is a funny thing, because it is always there, it never leaves. Whether we realize it or not, hope is alive. Hope...His name is Jesus. He is sitting there with a heart that is aching for us. He knows that the only way for us to succeed is for us to give the pieces to Him. It's funny how the simplest things can sometimes be the hardest. Why do we struggle so to hand Him the pieces, they are just frustrating us, but still we have a desire to hold onto them. And yet, all we have to do is hand them to Him and with careful and patient hands, He snaps each and everyone into its place, and suddenly the picture emerges. And when we hand Him the pieces, the messed up jumbled things of life, He smiles and hands us His peace. So my challenge to myself and you is to hand Him the pieces and allow the Hope of the World to bring Peace to your life. And then dance in it.

"Life is God’s novel. Let him write it." --Issac Bashevis Singer


 He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.  Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.  They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.
      - Isaiah 40:29-31

The Steps

The girl is standing in the middle of a giant field and slowly sighs. A sigh of frustration, fear and doubt. The world around is so large and seems to demand so much of her. A single tear begins to fall. And then, as the sun goes down and the moon begins to rise, He appears. And gently, oh so gently, as the stars begin to dance above, He takes her hand. Then, with the slightest of smiles on His lips, He gives the girl an invitation. He whispers, "Lets dance." At first her heart swells and she so longs to be swept away, until the realization hits her, she does not know the steps. She steps back and with fear in her voice says, "I can't."
        "Oh, but you can," He says, "For I am the one who created the dance. I know all the steps and twists and turns. All you have to do is let me lead." And so, she takes His hand and they begin to sway. But the girl soon stumbles and her heart sinks, for what if He, the creator of the dance will decide that she is simply not worth His time. But before she is even done thinking, He pulls her in and whispers into her ear, "I will never leave you. Trust me and know that it is okay to stumble, for if you only lean on me you will soon find that as you sway to my rhythm, the steps will come." So, she leans forward, lays her head on His chest and begins to move.
       And so it is in life. The One who created us and has called us by name knows all the steps in the dance. He promises to be faithful. As the seasons change, as the years go by, through the ups and downs. In the times of laughter and the times of tears. When it feels dark and like all hope is gone, He dances on. When we decide that He isn't leading properly, we begin to stumble and feel the bumps, and yet, through it all He never lets go. So, close your eyes, feel His promise and dance.


Zephaniah 3:17
"The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness; He will quiet you by His love; He will exult over you with loud singing."

"Life isn't about waiting for the storm to be over, it's about learning how to dance in the rain."  --Unknown

 

The Heartbeat

The other day I snuggled up to my husband, laid my head on his chest and began to listen to his heartbeat. A steady, rhythmic, beat... The beat of life. There in that place, with his arms around me and his heart gently beating in my ear, I felt so safe and loved. And it was in that moment that I realized something. The One who made me and knows my heart, loves me more than any person will ever be able to. The One who  has called my name is sitting there with arms open wide, just waiting for me to run into them, lay my head on His chest and listen to His heartbeat... Because it beats for me and for you. The heart of the Father is the pulse of life, it sustains us and keeps us safe. So often in this life we get distracted by all that is going on around us. Worries, fears, and the cares of this world will try to distract us, and it is when we allow this that we begin to panic. Because when our attentions to drift away from the heart of life, we lift up our head so that we can no longer hear His heart beat. Now the important thing to remember here is that even when we do this and allow worries to seep in, it doesn't mean that His heart no longer beats for us, it simply means that we have gotten distracted and have stopped listening. This can feel very frightening. But all that we need to do is take a deep breath, turn our eyes back to the One who is patiently waiting for us to remember that He is always right there, relax against Him and listen to His heartbeat... It beats for you.

"The most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched, they must be felt with the heart." --Hellen Keller