Autumn's hope!

Walking home from school yesterday evening as I waded through the river of golden brown leaves, it struck me that autumn has arrived. It never ceases to amaze me how after the wet rains of the English summer, autumn seems to appear unnoticed until we are captivated by the beauty of the changing leaves, especially when captured under a streak of autumn sunlight. It is a special season. One that is full of irony, in that as the leaves die and fall (producing much beauty to the eye) it whispers ‘hope’ and the promise of spring. We can take a lot of comfort from the changing seasons, in that there is a cycle to all things – life, death, pain, joy – everything has a season, as the book of Lamentations alludes to in its mantra: “There’s a time…”! Personally, I'm encouraged by the optimism that autumn brings because I'm at the cusp of entering into the next phase of my life. There is a lot of fear, anxiety and uncertainty, as I wait for things to unfold in God’s perfect will and time – but, I know that this season of ‘waiting’ will also come to completion. And for me the lesson is, that while I wait, I should look out for, and enjoy the nuggets of beauty occurring in my midst (even at this difficult time in my life); because every season has beauty to offer – it’s just a matter of our perceptions and how we view our difficulties and challenges from where we are at. I found this quote by an unknown author which sums up where I'm at: 'When the world says, "Give up,"Hope whispers, "Try it one more time." '