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| Lochiel Lake, Nova Scotia: Photo by my sister Tracy Auton Stuit |
The seasons have changed.
I watch the seat of power shift yet again;
and I find hope and joy in the inevitability of it all.
There is an ongoing relay playing out year after year in front of me.
For decades I have watched the effortless transition
of Spring into Summer and I have wondered
at the other seasons response to the transfer of power.
Winter is not a team player.
She does not surrender graciously, she must be forced back inch by painful inch.
She lashes back without warning at the hopeful.
Defying the inevitable, her very intractability and inflexibility is her weakness.
She yields ground unwillingly, fighting all the way.
I know what that feels like.
Autumn is my favorite season. Spring a close second.
It used to be the reverse.
The shift in loyalty came on slowly
but was cemented as I reached middle age.
Autumn must hand the baton to winter.
What an unenviable position to be in.
Yet She does it with such beauty, such passion.
She does not go gentle into that good night.
She BLAZES!
She ignites.
All her colors stage a triumphant parade to deaths door.
She defies the grave.
She knows.
What is it she knows you might ask????
She knows:
Winter is but a long tunnel to Spring.She is a doorway not an end.
As a woman who has lived half of an average lifespan,
do you wonder at my passion for this season?
As a young girl I loved summer.
The earth was so alive. Everything was so active.
As I matured, Spring crept her way into my heart...rebirth..fruitfulness.
Seeds and sower and rains, birds and babies.
Winter loses. We win! Death defeated!
Now comes Autumn. I know her now.
I see her.
Where she was once eclipsed by Summers radiance,
She now stands at the top of the podium.
She's who I want to be.
She takes my breath away.
Courage personified.
Full of grace and passion, full of faith.
Life laid down...blazing the path through.
She lights the way.
Memories of her passionate ending
warm the cold, dark days to come.
warm the cold, dark days to come.
The grave must be entered to be overcome.
Deep within the belly of the earth, life remains in the roots.
Deep within the stronghold the heart still beats.
The seeds lie dormant.
The seeds lie dormant.
Sustained.Waiting.
I love Autumn.
She embraces the journey: the process.
She knows: The Sun returns.
Her trust is unshaken in spite of her view of the landscape ahead.
A she closes her eyes and succumbs to Winter's blast...
She smiles....This too shall pass.
"Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies,it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit."~~ John 12:24 ESV ~~
What season do you find yourself in today?
Are you struggling to trust?
Does the way ahead seem dark and cold and endless?
Do you have encouragement for others ?
We are all sharing the road...your comments are precious.
We are all sharing the road...your comments are precious.
Isn't it a beautiful thing to live in a place where the seasons are SO intense?! For many years I lived on the west coast where there are 4 seasons but not as dramatic as they are here.
ReplyDeleteAnd you KNOW how I feel about winter.... ;-) In fact, just last night a leaf blew across the windshield of my car and for a wonderful, brief moment I thought it might be a snowflake! My heart leapt for joy until I realized it is WAY too warm for snow just yet.
I am struggling to trust right now. It seems I always do where my children are concerned!
ReplyDelete@Lisa I do KNOW how you feel about Winter. I have spent Spring and Summer changing my perspective!
ReplyDelete@ Michelle Lifting you and your family to the Father. He does ALL things well. He makes all things beautiful. It is good that trusting is based on His character not ours. I trust His heart for all of you! You are beloved!