Seasons : Fall
Fall lives in this beautiful tension of harvesting fruit from the summer and looking to a barren winter on the horizon. It can be abundant and cozy but also unsure and fearful. This tension we live in at times is rare in its ability to foster gratitude and stretch faith.
In this series expressing life through seasons, I want to take you through a journey of how to navigate different series of life. The good and the bad; the vibrant and the dark.
I find the season of fall to bring three experiences with it.
Harvesting fruit.
“The Lord will indeed give what is good, and our land will yield its harvest”
Fall is a time for harvest. A time you reap what was once sown in labor and faith. Fall is a time to gather up the fruit and goodness from a bountiful season.
Have you been in a good season? A fruitful season? Then take time to celebrate what God has done in your life. Gather up the good and recount your blessings. Bring in the bounty so that you're ready for the drought ahead.
Harvesting is a seaosn of celebrationg and preparation. Remebering the good and storing up for the difficulty ahead.
Shedding of old.
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.”
One of my favorite things about fall is the shedding of trees. Greens give way to oranges, reds, and yellows in spectacular fashion. But as beautiful as this is, in reality, life is lost. Leaves are dying and the trees shed the old life away.
A life season of fall might be a season of shedding the past and shaking off the old. Of ridding yourself of what is dead. Maybe it's friends of negative influence. Perhaps it's an old habit that locks you into bondage.
Whatever sin or harm might be clinging on to you, it's time to throw it off. Winter is a season that calls out the endurance in us, unlike any other time. In order to persevere through the barren, you'll need all the endurance you can get. And to tap into that, you'll need to leave the old behind.
Preparing for winter.
“Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”
You've likely noticed when the squirrels gather their nuts in fall for the winter coming. Animals across the world prepare for the difficult season ahead. It's prudent to do so.
Winter always comes and you must be prepared for when it does. Be ready in season and out of season for what may come. Prepare your mind and fix your hope on Jesus. That way when it does hit, you're layered up and ready to face the cold.
Fall is a beautiful time and I hope you will celebrate when you're in it. But it's also a time of preparation and I hope you will take part in doing so in order to survuve the comign winter.