Autumn--A Gift from God

I went for a walk in the park today. I didn't want to go to the gym to walk, even though the gym is heated and it's very cold here. I needed to be out in creation with God, and it was a wonderful walk.

The colors are fading, and I can tell we are drifting further into fall. I've never experienced a fall when it got so cold so fast. When I go home next, I'm definitely taking more summer clothes home and bringing more winter clothes back. But as I was walking through the park, I wished that I could see the colors and atmosphere of fall all year long. It's so refreshing. Today was almost like a scene out of one of my novels. God told me it would all come back next year and that if we did have fall all year long I would get sick of it and start longing for spring, summer, and winter. I just want to hold on to it as long as I can. He told me it was His gift to me and that I am to cherish it for the rest of the season.

It's funny how God works. He creates the four seasons, creates the beautiful colors of fall--colors I could never dream up in a million years--and it all is for the glory of God. Today I must have seen over twenty squirrels all over the park. I saw the geese and the swans and the ducks. None of them were complaining or asking God why He made them that way. They weren't begging to be something else. They were just doing what God created them to do and glorifying Him in the process. I stopped as I gazed out at the magnificent pond. Two geese were gliding over it as if were nothing. I praised God. If I named all the things I praised Him for, it would be too long, but I just praised Him. Throughout this whole walk, one verse came to mind, a verse I ponder often. It's Psalm 46:10. "Be still and know that I am God." How many times a day in our busy lives and hectic schedules do we sit down and pause and be still? I just walked and I didn't try to make it complicated. I just knew deep in my heart that He was God. That everything was created by Him and for His glory. That He was my lover and would never leave me. That He was going to take care of every need I could ever imagine. I just had to be still, trust, and know He is God.

I once read something from Elisabeth Elliot in her book Passion and Purity that illustrates this very well. She is talking about the acorn. The simple little acorn that God created starts as a seed in the ground, but it gives life to a beautiful oak tree. Once an oak tree grows and grows, more acorns fall to the ground. The acorn doesn't ask God why it is an acorn or complain that the fall from the tree to the ground hurt. It it as it is because God created it to be an acorn. If the acorn wasn't an acorn, there would be many oak trees missing from this world. Elisabeth Elliot writes as if from God telling us, "Look at the acorn and trust me."

This is a big thing to think about in college. So many things are changing. I've never had to trust so much before in my life. But I am growing in doing so. Right now there are so many things that I don't know the answer to, but I'd rather not know than think I know and have it all wrong. But there is one thing that I do know. I know He is God. That is the only thing I need to know. And until the time comes when I'm supposed to know, I will wait. There is a song that I've been listening to lately that explains this very well. It's called "I Will Wait for You There" by Phil Wickham. It says, I will wait for you there, down on my knees where I met you, give you all of my cares. . . . And with outstretched arms, I will sing a melody. And my beating heart, will pour out a symphony. Hallelujahs in the morning, hallelujahs in the night. I will wait for you as long as I have life. The words and the music all fit together so wonderfully.

As I lamented leaving the park this evening because it closed at six, I embraced and captured the gift God had given me. I will keep it forever. It's so overwhelming standing amidst the beauty of the creator. Autumn is the most beautiful gift God has given the world, and me.