I love the Fall. To me, it is the "middle age" of seasons. It comes after the newness of spring, when shoots of plants struggle upwards like a child standing up to take those first tentative steps. The sunshine and warm temperatures call those things that were dormant, or hibernating, or had migrated south, to reappear, ready to begin another cycle of life.
Summer arrives, and plants come into their fullness of bloom and fruition. From spring until September, we reap their harvest and drink in the beauty of vast varieties and shades of flowers. This is the "adult" of the seasons, when maturity comes to those furry and feathered babies born in the spring, and they are weaned from their mother's milk, or nudged out of their nests, to strike out on their own.
Then comes Autumn. The changing leaves seem to be shouting a last "hurrah" before letting go and dancing prettily to the ground. Scooped and bagged, now more of a nuisance than anything, they wait by the curb, or blown by the wind they gather in ditches, slowly making their way back to the soil that first brought them forth. Farmer's fields become barren landscapes of dried up corn stalks and shriveled plants, all their bounty now gone, depleted of the new life that once made heavy their vines and branches.
I feel I am in that "mid life" season. I look behind and see the Spring and Summer of my life, now gone past. I gaze with longing on the energy and promise they held, knowing I can't bring them back. Still, this is a good season. For it can bring contentment; a sense of not needing to peddle so fast as in younger days. The frantic pace of child rearing is behind, leaving grandchildren as its rich harvest.
I'm not ready for the rocking chair yet, however, and God willing, I've got a few last "hurrahs" left to shout. The best part is that I've got Him to show me how, where and when. And even as the Autumn of life fades into winter, where this life ends, the next is waiting, full of more promise and joy than this one could ever offer
Which season are you in? Are you content where you are? Have you considered what life’s next season might hold for you? Have you considered Him who made those seasons, and offers one of everlasting life?
“and yet He did not leave Himself without witness, in that He did good and gave you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness.” (Acts 14:17)
Maureen Breakspear
Published in Millbrook Times 19/11/10
