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In Praise of Autumn

I have to admit, I'm a fan of Fall.  A lot of people are not.  The days are shorter, the morning air is at least crisp, if not down-right cold here.  The trees shed their leaves and get ready for a winter sleep.
God said it would be this way.

Genesis records the movement of Noah and his family as they leave the Ark - their vessel of redemption as the Flood destroyed the earth.  The words in Genesis stir our imagination and also make us acknowledge what we know is annually occurring:
Genesis 8:21-22
21  And when the LORD smelled the pleasing aroma, the LORD said in his heart, “I will never again curse the ground because of man, for the intention of man’s heart is evil from his youth. Neither will I ever again strike down every living creature as I have done.
22  While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease.”

The seasons...and Wisconsin gets all four of them in particularly different ways.  For me personally, Autumn is my favorite.  While some see grey skies and barren trees with decreasing sun lit days, I see beauty in falling leaves, the fields being emptied of their abundance during harvest; the smells of a warm house filled with breads, soups, roasts and more dessert treats than any person should consume.

Autumn reminds my soul to slow...take some time...the pace of life around us depersonalizes us.  We become addicted to running from one thing to another...pack it all in...there's another one tomorrow...keep rowing.  Sometimes though I want to set the oars down and just float, soak up the air, the smells, actually look at the land.

Autumn reminds me that the Land is our most important gift from our creator God.  The land has done it's job - now it's time for it to rest.  It takes those months between Autumn and Spring and sleeps, not because it's lazy, but because it knows it will need to be reawakened and be ready - and it will be ready - to produce once again.
It's like that year after year...rhythms of work, rest...rhythms that we would be much better off if we could emulate them.

Exodus 20:8-11
8  Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
9  Work six days and do everything you need to do.
10  But the seventh day is a Sabbath to GOD, your God. Don't do any work—

What we often cannot find the time to do, God does for us in Autumn

Peace

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