Autumn Renewal

Sitting here this morning feeling a little melancholy, but blessed. I am missing my two daughters who are off at college. Wishing they were here to share the morning with me. As I sit thinking of the memories, the rich, warm aroma of coffee soothes me and my favorite coffee cup is filled to the brim just inches from my hand. I sit here in the dark and gaze out my back yard window. I watch the early morning sky lighten as the sun comes up. There is no colorful, beaming sunrise this morning, rather the sky is heavy, gray and overcast. The sturdy, old cottonwood tree in my backyard hints of the season we are in. The ever fading green leaves are sprinkled with yellow and gold splashes. I watch individual leaves flutter gracefully to the ground in the still morning air and join the scattering piles that are accumulating beneath the towering tree and those that stand around it. The early morning air breathes of crispness and is filled with a hint of wood smoke and moisture as I watch tiny droplets pelt my window.

Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.

~ Albert Camus

Fall. Winter. Fall. Winter. October is in the air. The month that is ever confused about the season. My favorite season of the year. For me, autumn has a freshness to it. A calm, cool, rustic, earthy smell of change. A preparing freshness. Preparing for the blustery winter that lies ahead. A reminding freshness of what is to come. Plants wither, leaves change and fall, and the grass turns to brown. I am reminded of the newness that will come after fall has finished and winter has shared its wrath. The things of nature die and will be renewed.

No spring nor summer beauty hath such grace

As I have seen in one autumnal face.

~ John Donne

 Renewed. Restored. Revived. Reborn. The beauty of autumn is the reminder of the restoration that is yet to come. So very much like the restoration we have in Christ. What an amazing gift we have in Christ and the sacrifice he made for us. In Christ, we have newness of life. When we commit our lives to Christ, we are renewed, restored, revived, reborn and transformed in Him. Each day is a reminder of the newness we have. While we cannot undo what has been done in our past, we are forgiven. Each and every day we can start anew because Christ has paid the price for us. We are reborn and renewed through the living Word of God.

...he saved us, not because of the righteous things we have done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and a new life through the Holy Spirit.

~ Titus 3:5

Renewal. Restoration. Revival. Rebirth. While so many think of autumn as the death of a season. I think of it as a rebirth. A cleansing of what is old being washed away. A preparation for restoration and renewal to take place. A reminder of what the Lord has in store for us. As we enjoy and breathe in the blessings and aromas of this autumn season, I am reminded of the lyrics of one of my favorite Keith Green songs which are taken from Psalm 51. 

"Create in me a clean heart, Oh God

and renew a right spirit within me."

"Restore unto me, the joy of thy salvation

and renew a right spirit within me."

~ "Create in me a Clean Heart, Keith Green"

Renewed. Restored. Revived. Blessed. I am blessed in countless ways. I pray for blessings on all of you my friends as we breathe in the graces of this autumn season.  May you experience renewal, restoration and revival through this season and in our savior, Jesus Christ.