The maple tree outside my window quivers in the hazy light.
In the air, the faint scent of wildfire smoke.
The evening sun droops beneath the mountains,
so much faster than she did a month ago.
She is hastier to leave these days. More timid to return.
Like me, she knows that Summers peak has past.
Like me, she’s afraid of the season to come.
I sip my coffee and close my eyes, taking a moment between all my comings and goings to be thankful for this day, this moment,
this breath.
I am grateful for the changing of the seasons.
But I always hate to see them leave.
One of the only certainties in life is change.
Our friends change. Our families change. Our bodies change.
The world around us, always changing.
The moon- waxing and waning.
The rivers- rising and falling.
The trees- budding and blossoming,
then burning and blazing before Winter blows them down.
And you- and me-watching in wonder as our lives mimic the natural world. Like the moon, and the rivers, and the trees, we too are ever shifting. And helpless amidst it all.
The clouds come without a warning.
The snow falls when we aren’t ready.
The sun flees, despite our protest.
And even after all our scientific and technological advances,
we still- can do nothing about it.
But that’s how it’s supposed to be.
“It is not for you to know the times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority.” -Acts 1:7
It is not for us to know, but it is for God- to control.
“He controls the times and the seasons; he makes and unmakes kings; it is he who gives wisdom and understanding. He reveals things that are deep and secret; he knows what is hidden in darkness, and he himself is surrounded by light.” -Daniel 2:21-22
Like me, you’re probably aware that Summer is fleeting.
Friends are going back to college, kids going back to school.
Vacations, ending. Schedules, tightening.
The light, running out. Time….running out.
There is a fear in change for me.
But there is also a comfort in it.
Because God does not change. And God knows the times and seasons. And I trust God.
So when I exhale on my porch, the fear I’ve held inside evaporates into the air- the air God holds. The air God made with the exact gases and chemicals to let me breathe it in the first place.
I watch the trees shake and I watch the light vanish and far off in the distance, I catch a glimpse of Autumn. She looks different this year.
Yet that’s also what makes her the same.
I’ll prepare, as I should- for the changing of this season.
But I won’t fear. I don’t need to.
My Father knows that Autumn is coming, and he sees every season after. He is behind and before all things. He holds all things together. He is long suffering and he is kind. He is steadfast and he is sure.
He has led me since Spring. He will bring me through Fall.
I can dance with Summer- while she’s still here.
“The grass withers and the flowers fade, but the word of our God stands forever.”
-Isaiah 40:8
