The Promises of Fall

It is October 1st…how did that happen!?

I shared last week in A Seat at The Table (the bi-monthly email I send out…you can subscribe at the bottom of the page) that for as much as I am crazy and love the Summers here in the desert, I 100% ADORE Fall – even here where the cactus needles don’t change colors with the seasons! This past week I feel like God knew we needed a small break here in the desert Southwest and the temps have been slowly getting cooler.  Sunday it was even rainy – which made for a great post-church nap and some wonderful quiet time reading in my cozy chair.

The closer we have gotten to October, the more I have been thinking about the reasons I love Fall so much. I do enjoy the fact that it seems to be a season of gratitude for me. I also think that, as the temperature here in the desert cools, people seem to be more kind and giving to one another. Fall lends itself to cozy soups, warm blankets, and spicy baked goods. I mean, who doesn’t love all things pumpkin (don’t answer that if you’re a pumpkin hater!)? All those things are on the list of why I love Fall, but the deeper reason I adore this season is that I think it speaks to the promises of God.

The changing of the leaves is something I think we all are in awe of, even if we don’t live where that occurs nearby. For us, the drive up the mountains is less than an hour and we can go from a desert of cacti that stay a dusky green all year, to the beautiful colors of crimson, orange, gold, and rust. It’s a reminder that the colors, while beautiful, indicate the coming dormancy of Winter. That all things fade and whither. Beauty amid loss.

But God…

But God promises that life comes after death. That joy comes in the morning. That the sun rises every day, and the seasons will change back once again.

Life and death.

Inhale and exhale.

He is faithful every day, in every season, in every life. And won’t He do it again!?

I am reading 1000 Gifts by Ann Voskamp again, and I am committing to writing 1000 things I’m thankful for before Christmas. I want to walk through this Fall season with a grateful heart each day. To write a tangible list of the little and big things. Of the seen and the unseen. I want to remember His promises: the big, the small and the in between.

You Keep Your Promises by JJ Heller

Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash