Fall is my favorite time of year. I love the cool crisp air, deep blue sky, and all the colors of the trees. On top of all that beauty, this season reminds us of the cycle of life. Soon the leaves will fall to the ground and the trees will be bare as the snow falls. Winter can be a cold, lonely time while we wait for spring and new life to appear.

I’d like to suggest we press into the lessons nature teaches us. I read just the other day that a caterpillar needs to almost die to transform into a butterfly. It becomes a big gooey mess then transitions into something beautiful. Sometimes life feels like that doesn’t it? One big gooey mess or a bare tree out in the middle of a snowstorm. I’ve said this before when I talk about Lent… we need to experience the darkness so we can appreciate the light. That’s what this time reminds us of…death and resurrection. With every ending there is a new beginning. Even our mortal bodies will experience that when we die. The outside shell will die, but our souls will be transported to paradise where there is no more death… no more gooey mess… and no more bare trees out in the snow.

So, I invite you to sit with that darkness, cold, and barrenness. Appreciate the reminder from nature that we were once dead in sine but have been resurrected with Christ and will someday be with God forever!

See you Sunday!