Fantastic Fall

I love fall!!

Everyone has their favorite season... for most it's probably spring or summer... for some it's winter, but as for me- I love the fall!

I enjoy the other seasons (for the most part) but I feel rejuvenated in the fall. Weird, I know. I just can't help myself, as the Lord begins to wave His paintbrush over the landscape my heart leaps. There is nothing that can match those colors, seriously!

God made each season unique, and to me the fall is the culmination of things.

Winter is the time of rest in many ways, most of the plants go dormant, the weather does it's best to keep us indoors. The daylight is less, we tend to be more willing to take time to be quiet... yes, like nature we know it's a season of rest.

Spring is a season of rejuvenation, new life is blossoming around us, it is a time to plant. Whether that is in the natural and we are preparing to plant our garden, or seeking the Lord to plant new dreams in our heart.

Summer comes with the warmth of the sun and longer hours of daylight, and this gives us time to play and allows the plants to grow.

Then comes fall and with it the wonder of the harvest... something that began months before with the turning of soil and planting of the seeds is now bursting for with produce.

I am reminded in this season that we also go through seasons, though they may not always align with the season of nature we are in at the time.

In my personal life I have seen seasons of winter, with it's darkness and sense of loss, I have gone through seasons of spring with new life and optimism... prayers of new dreams for my life.

Then comes a summer season... a time to rejoice in the beauty around us, maybe a trip to the coast to watch the ocean and ponder the power of the Lord. It is a time to allow the dreams that the Lord has put in our hearts to grow. To trust that, if He gave us the dream, He will bring it to pass.

But the best time of all, the one that is so exciting to come into, a fall season!! Sometimes we know when these are coming- maybe it's the completion of a project we have been working on. But sometimes, and these are the best, are those times of dream harvest... That moment that the Lord brings into being those dreams He gave us in that "spring" however long ago it was that we got the dream.

So back to the physical fall outside, yes, I love the colors, the sounds and smell of this time of year, what I really love is that I see it as the Lord's reminder that He will bring my life into it's season of harvest in His timing. And His timing is always best!

Winds of Change

Change happens, it is as inevitable as night and day. The Bible tells us that this is natural.

Ecclesiastes 3:1
To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven.

We all have seasons of change in our lives, the obvious ones are changing from childhood to young adult-hood, then there is going from single to married, to parenthood, then empty-nesting. Sometimes we have moments that our lives are interrupted by unexpected events; loss of a loved one, sudden job changes and more.

All I know is that change happens, and the only control we have over it is simply how we respond to it. I was encouraged today at church when the young woman that was teaching, spoke on change, it stirred a confirmation in my spirit. You see, earlier this week I posted on Facebook how lately I have felt that it felt like things were about to change.

My statement was this: 

Do you ever get that feeling, like in Mary Poppins... where you feel the wind of change beginning to hit the sails of your life. No clue, why or when it's coming, but simply feel like it is? 

Pondering this morning what the road ahead will bring, I feel a shift and I'm not exactly sure what it means, it may just be my job change, but I feel it's more than that...

What I have been feeling is that things are changing, I'm not sure exactly what is going to change, or why things are changing, I just know that they are, and I feel like they are going to be big changes. This doesn't mean fast, but they will be big. Good thing that my trust is in God. 

Change can be stressful to some, and exhilarating to others. For me, my goal is simply to trust God and rest in Him as I move forward into whatever the change is.

At this point in my life I feel that it's a realistic goal, over the last 6 years the Lord has helped to grow me in this area. It hasn't always been so, I can honestly say that 15 years ago I was a person that, hmmm, how do I say this? Was, well, change resistant.

We need to remember that change is going to take us to where the Lord wants us to be. In this last 6 years God has taught me that no matter what is happening, no matter what I face, He is with me... I have learned the importance of responding rather than reacting.

Ephesians 20 Giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

I haven't exactly learned to embrace change, just appreciate it and give thanks for it as I go. I can say that, I no longer stress when something comes along to seemingly turn my world upside down... I remember that God is my provider. I understand that it is through a thankful heart that I can rest. Thankfulness allows me to become content.

My prayer for anyone who reads this; Embrace life, and all the changes that come with it. Rejoice that you are on a journey, and that, if you trust God, you will arrive at the destination that He has for you.

In my post the other day, I also posted these scriptures and why I draw much strength from them as I face the future and any changes it may bring.

• Isaiah 40:31 But those who wait on the LORD, Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.  ---Because it reminds me that God will always be faithful to give me the strength I need. 
• Proverbs 3:5-6  Trust in the LORD with all your heart, ​​And lean not on your own understanding; ​​In all your ways acknowledge Him, ​​And He shall direct your paths. - Reminds me that I can trust my life to Him, and He will guide me.
• Matthew 19:26 But Jesus looked at them and said to them, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” -- God gave me this verse during Glenn's cancer battle and has shown me it's truth in many ways since his passing 6 years ago.
• Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. -- I can rest in the fact that God has good plans for me.

Reflections...

When we think of a reflection, we think of looking in a mirror, or maybe on still water and seeing a copy of the item in front of it. Or maybe we think of it as taking a moment to think about something in greater depth.

This morning as I was wandering through Facebook-land, I saw a post by my nephew, he was reflecting back to when he was 15 and his mom had passed to breast cancer. She was only 38 when she died.-- My husband was only 52 when he passed, yet my dad was 93.

It again made me reflect on the briefness of life. Life is so short, no matter how long our life is, it is still just a blip on the grand scale of things. It is how we use our lives that determines our impact here on earth. 

As I reflect on those I have known over the years, and the lives they led I find myself reflecting on my own life. I want to live a life, that when I am gone, has left a positive impact on those around me.

For my children I want them to go further and do more than I have done... I think this is something that I think all parents want for their children. I want my children to have watched me, make the choice to follow the Lord first and above all other things, and have faith in Him. I want them to have memories of the funny times and the more serious moments where we came together, trusting the Lord and seen His hand move on our behalf.

I want to be a person of integrity, someone who is a friend that adds something, anything, positive to the lives of those around me. I want to be a person that is trustworthy because of the Lord in my life, I choose to pray for others because I know the power of the Lord in my life and I want to see it in others, I want them to know who HE is. I want to reflect the love of God, I want to see others as He see them. 

Am I there yet... no. Am I trying, yes. 

To become the woman that the Lord wants me to become, means taking that look at who I am, and being willing to let Him adjust me. It means doing the hard thing at times, and sharing that side of me that I prefer to keep hidden, with someone that I trust. This in itself can be a challenge, because people can, and will fail us, but it's because of my faith in God that I must push past the desire to close myself off. Because, if I allow myself to withdraw from people and things, then I become ineffective in what He wants me to do.

We were not placed on this earth to live life alone, we were designed to live in community with others. So press in, live, love and laugh with others; create memories, live a life worthy of the gift that it is. 

As for me, I want to live my life so that when I look in the mirror I can see me the way that God sees me. I am His child, and I want to be a good reflection of Him.

Blessings!!

Mary