The leaves on the trees which line our lane have left. The wind has whipped them off and they lay like a golden shroud on the frost-tipped grass.
Winter waits…its time is near.
There are some pluses though; with the trees bare I can see the mountains on a clear day…sometimes they are laden with snow but today clouds obstruct the view. But like The Promised Land, I know they are there and look forward to seeing them someday soon.
The trees look half dressed with bits of their autumn finery clinging to the lower branches. They seem reluctant to accept their nakedness.
I sit with my Max Lucado book in my lap. I’m supposed to be preparing my Friday Bible Study but I am pondering the changes in nature and the changes in my life.
I saw my best friend Mary, yesterday. She had moved to a Seniors’ Residence a month ago and I had not been able to visit. I arrived unexpectedly as she was having tea in the lobby.
I flew to her side and nearly crushed her. Tears filled my eyes as I said “I’ve missed you so much.” I looked around and several tear-filled eyes gazed back at me…others were touched, I could tell. But I could not be sad for she seemed so happy.
Another friend is leaving me this weekend. I first met her nearly fifty years ago. I share so many memories with her but I doubt if I will ever see her again. She is moving to Calgary, a long ways away from me. But her family is there and she is ninety now, she needs to be closer to them.
So the ongoing ‘march’ of the seasons changes a lot of things…nature moves along and so must we. Change can be bitter sweet with winter setting to sleep the garden and grasses, spring satisfying our hope for the planted seeds, summer sunshine (and surges of Vitamin D) and autumn with its fabulous colours…all reminding us of God’s plan.
One thing about the senior years is the advantage of looking back and seeing no longer ‘through a glass darkly’. Now you better understand why things had to be, why the challenges, why the times of testing. So many misunderstood things now reveal themselves as part of God’s plan.
Life mimics the seasons of nature and like the planted seed, we grow, flourish and then go to our winter place of rest. But each season of life is exciting and God shines on every aspect of our journey.
I see His hand in all these changes. Both of nature and of life. He has never failed me and I pray my faith in Him will not fail either…so I pray for strength, understanding and His guidance. How can I possibly go wrong?
