Pastor Tim's fall Reflection
Being still in Fall
For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: 2a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted. For a class we were instructed to pause and notice what was going on around us, how God was present in the world all around us. I noticed that when I force myself to “pause” I automatically shift to a spot outdoors. This is where I escape the pressing issues of the moment and “reconnect”. I notice the sun shining down on me warming the exposed skin. The breeze blowing the dried leaves causing them to rattle through the grass and down the driveway. I connect the wind to God’s Spirit dancing with us here on Earth, swinging from tree to tree freely and without reason; stopping to reach down from the branches above, messing with our hair, and turning the pages on our books that we are trying to read, inviting us to put them down and “play”.
Watching the leaves falling steadily reminds me of the seasons of our lives. Just like the individual leaves on the branches, we also, will in time start our downward journey. Some will fall swiftly and quietly without being noticed, while others will take their time, stopping for a brief moment on every branch, rattling and causing a ruckus the entire way. I’m getting older, no longer green and full of life, however, wiser and more cautious, more fragile but at the same time, more colorful. From living with God as my partner I am confident with who I have become, and at least have learned from the choices that I have made. My life is full; full of good times, loving times, hard times and sad times, but full none the less.
For me, fall embodies God far more-so than spring. Spring is full of new life and nourishing rain showers, sprouting flowers and weeds. It is easy to get drawn in to the miracle of new life. Young puppies and little kittens emerge from old barns and abandoned cars, birds of every feather return to their summer homes and look for the perfect nesting spot, and spiders spin new life- supporting webs. It is easy to see God amidst this new and lively season of creation and new starts. Life and love make the air thick and lively, yet light and joyful.
The season of Fall is filled with God and God’s love as well; it just isn’t as obvious as it is in Spring. To truly witness the presence of God in the Fall, one must look deeper, sit still a little longer, take in full breaths of the cool autumn air spiced with its own special fragrances, and then feel the wonder of it all. Even in the death and dying associated with fall, I am reminded that God is still with us; making it beautiful and peaceful. It seems to the average person that death and the declining time should be a sad time, a time to reflect on one’s life and to regret things done and things left undone.
To the person who has lived with appreciation for their creator and sustainer this doesn’t have to be a regretful time, a time of aloneness or a time of sorrow. For them who have given their life to God’s loving and guiding hands it is not an ending point; it is a new beginning. There is the promise of new life with God, new life like we haven’t yet experienced, a life with no Fall or Winter, spring or summer, no decline or end, but rather the start of a life like no other; eternal life.
In life, in death, in life beyond death, God is with us. We are not alone. Thanks be to God this day and every day, be it Winter, Spring, Summer, or Fall, birth or adolescence, middle age or retirement; God is walking right there with us, every precious step of the way. God is good all the time, and all the time, God is good. Amen.
Tim Miller
September 16, 2012
