Appreciating Autumn

I used to dislike Autumn…Watching the leaves fall and trees becoming bare depressed me. I knew this season existed only as a precursor to evil winter, a reminder of dark, cold months ahead.

Now I no longer hold autumn responsible for the winter blues. I love the cooler air. The beautiful colors. I appreciate the farmers harvesting the corn and soybeans. The crunch of leaves. The smell of a neighbor’s bonfire. Soups and pumpkins and apples. The delight of cheers at the high school football game. The roller-coaster ride of emotions cheering my Buckeyes football each fall. Filling out the next year’s calendar full of plans, dreams and possibilities. A time of gratitude, reflection, and comfort knowing seasons ebb and flow and all will be well.

Autumn brings in a quiet, cozy shift in my heart.

Nadia Bolz-Weber wrote a few weeks ago in her newsletter this phrase: “open the aperture of appreciation.” I like that image – opening to naming the beauty and joys found, even in times when the hunt for the holy in harder than normal.

Look at this photo. This is the tree I see as I pray each morning, sitting in my chair. She shines in glorious light.

Doesn’t it amaze you that our creator God not only gave trees this ability to sparkle beautifully each fall, but also the gift to clean the air, provide home for the birds and yummy fruits?  Then as if God said, “Here’s even more.”  God waved divine hands in summer, filling out trees’ branches with lush leaves providing shade. Then in colder winter when more sunlight is so needed, God lets the leaves fall off to open the branches to provide more light.

Thomas Merton wrote, “A tree gives glory to God by being a tree.”

Beholding autumn reminds me to pause and look deeply at each season, knowing its gifts give us life, hope, and promise in its beauty and rhythm.

What do you like best about autumn?