There is just something about the changing of the season—as all that is green and bright is transformed into radiant color that awakens the still soul inside.  The monotonous green countryside becomes a rainbow of golden delight, as reds, oranges, and fierce yellows pierce through, calling for us to notice that the world is ablaze. Their vibrancy whispers, “Darling it is time to come alive!!”  and the soul responds with a dance of joy as it stands in wonder and awe of the changing world around it.

And yet, is this not the greatest paradox?

The changing of the leaves and the fiery colors reveal that death is ever near and fast approaching. The vibrant colors shyly whisper that soon, the world will be covered in gray and white, and color will fade with the passing of the October sky.  In the midst of this passing change, there is a great mystery: the whole world holds its breath in wonder as the mystery of
life and death begins to unfold in nature’s existence.

I suppose it is a reminder of the eternity of the soul and the hope of resurrection.  It is a reminder that though the colorful beauty will soon die, eternal beauty remains vibrantly alive inside of us—the dance of the soul in response to the deep red leaves and vibrant fall sunsets continues far beyond the falling of the last leaf.  And yet, the season at hand is an awakening for the soul that has not yet entered into the eternal dance.  The colors catch the attention of our senses and beckon us to not be satisfied by the world outside, but rather call us to turn inward and see the vibrancy of the created soul that animates our being.  It is a call to enter into life eternal and a plea to renounce the death that previously grasped our soul—awake, O sleeper.

It is a great mystery, that nature’s death can awaken such truth for the human soul.  It is the most profound gift from our Creator, that each year he calls us back to Himself through the external manifestation of the soul’s destiny untouched by redemption.  As you watch the leaves fall, be reminded of the One who moves the wind—the same wind that carries the leaf gently to its death also breathed eternal life into the chasm of your soul and cleansed you in His Blood.  It is a call to embrace the life inside and bathe in the blood that saves us from the fall into nothingness.

Be at rest and be vibrantly alive, for though the world is ever-changing, He is ever constant, His Redemption ever fruitful, and His Resurrection ever new.