Leaves fell from the tip top of the tree to the firm ground. They swayed back and forth like a beautiful crystal chandelier in the wind. As they slipped onto the cold ground there was a calmness that came over them as if they were destined to meet at that specific time. As I think about the fall season and then the changing of different seasons in our lives, I am reminded of the goodness of God and His ability to create the perfect picture for us that we never could have imagined.
The last few years of my life have presented me with some major changes. I’ve moved far away from my family, friends, and church. I graduated and then started school again, moved home and then moved out on my own, started new jobs and then left them for different new jobs, started and been in new relationships only to start and be in more new relationships, and I’ve learned a whole lot about myself and the world around me. The person I was simply five years ago has evolved into a person that I wouldn’t have recognized at twenty-one. God has done so many wonderful things in my life, but it hasn’t always been easy to accept change and the different seasons that have come and gone.
They say that as you grow older you gain more wisdom, and you begin to see life in a different light. Things that were once crazily important are redefined, and your true character and values present themselves as an open present or box to the world. I’ve come to learn that my desires, wants, and needs have shifted over time. I realize how little I need to be happy (when God is always with me). There are times and seasons when materialism, people pleasing, and the temptation to conform to pressure surround us. I have found that these phases in life seem to fade just like the leaves that fall from the trees. The process isn’t always easy, but somehow we make it through.
I can’t imagine that when a tree changes colors, and then loses all of its leaves it is an easy process. I’m sure that the tree at many times feels the pain and struggle of it all. The tree knows that change is coming, has prepared as much as it can throughout the year for the cold winter, but really is lost in the mystery of life and how it will happen and occur. Maybe we feel like this too. Sometimes we know that change is coming, but we don’t know exactly what that will mean. Sometimes we ask for change, pray for something, and then when the Lord opens the door we are scared to walk through it. Sometimes we aren’t ready for change even though we like to believe that we can conquer the world! The process of change isn’t easy, and it takes time to adjust. Often times we assume that even when we are in the will of God it will be a crazily happily and great time only to find that sometimes are much quieter and slower than others. Sometimes the only preparation that we have for the change that occurs so fast in our life is the willingness and desire to hold the hand of God as he leads us through some of the darkest and most challenging times in our lives. In retrospect we look back on these “dark times,” and we are amazed at how many of the Lord’s footsteps we can see imprinted into our journey.
I have to believe that there is some sort of divine purpose for all of us. There is something special in every change and season that occurs. Just as the leaves fall at a certain time and fulfill their purpose we too must fulfill our purpose. If we do not do what we have been created to do, what is the meaning of our existence?
It’s easy to say we believe Romans 8:28. It’s easy to proclaim that God is great when the blessings, the favor, and our dreams are being fulfilled. But what about the times when God is silent? What about the times when our dreams are put on hold? What about the times when God says “No,” and we want him to say “Yes.” How do we accept a completely different plan? Do we truly believe that ALL things work together for the good to them that love God and are called according to his purpose? Can we truly be honest with ourselves and with our God? Life isn’t always easy. Life isn’t always what we think it will be. Sometimes it is more, and sometimes it is less. But even in these times it would be valuable for us to learn to trust God, to keep seeking out His will, to keep praying even when it seems He is silent and distant, and to keep believing when nothing seems like it will unfold.
The sun began to rise in the east that day. The sparkle of the morning dust lifted quietly up off the ground. Rose petals began to open, birds began to chirp, and the trees began to stretch their branches as if to yawn for the rising of the day. No one knew exactly what to expect this Spring. The one thing they did know however was that no matter what: God was with them, He desperately loved them, and that He wanted to wrap His arms of mercy and grace around them on this beautiful new day that He had given to them.
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