fall behind

As we drove through the winding back roads this morning, I realized the brightly colored leaves that once adorned the skyline where now scattered among the ground. Trees recently thick with rich reds, oranges, and yellows now stood bare and skeletal, preparing for the change of season and cold winter ahead.

I thought out loud and remarked to Jeremy, "I wish it would stay Fall, I'm dreading winter." This sentiment was further solidified as we drove past our favorite pumpkin patch and saw that the corn maze and pumpkins were now cleared out and empty, awaiting the many evergreens that would take their place.

While there are so many things I look forward to in the holiday season, it is always hard to leave memories behind and forge ahead, especially when the path seems dark and uncertain.

My mother sent me an encouraging verse when I spent my first month away from home working at a summer camp when I was sixteen. It reminded me then, as it does now, that no matter what season we are in God calls us to find joy in all circumstances:

"Though the fig tree does not bud
and there are no grapes on the vines,
though the olive crop fails
and the fields produce no food,
though there are no sheep in the pen
and no cattle in the stalls,
yet I will rejoice in the LORD,
I will be joyful in God my Savior."

Habakkuk 3:17-18

Here's a favorite fall memory!


Jeremy in the corn maze with Michael in tow.