Fall is just around the corner....

 

Delicious autumn!

My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird

I would fly about the earth seeking successive autumns.    

George Elliot

 

               I have begun my fall cleaning, yes fall cleaning.  Though all our children are grown and there is less debris from the summer… clean up is necessary.  Closets no longer bust open with old water shoes with holes in the toes, outgrown bathing suits, deflated floaties and chewed up noodles (don’t they always end up looking like someone chewed them?), and of course the summer league grass stained baseball pants; yet still I have my own messes.

 Let’s face it, spring cleaning is all about dusting up the cobwebs so we can get out and play, open the windows to bring the outside in.  But autumn calls us back into the house.

               I prefer my autumn cleaning, in the midst of window washing, summer picture sorting, and swapping out clothes for the season; I drink hot pumpkin coffee.  Autumn is when I actually will sit down with a cup of coffee and think.  Think about nothing, think about family, think about cooking again and think about what it means to lose something with the promise of restoration.  As I sit and ponder, my actions become a bit more deliberate.

               In the spring I am impatient as I wait for the bulbs to bloom, the last patch of snow to melt, and for flip flops to become my shoe of choice.  The fall teaches me patience, who wants to rush the last leaf to fall off the maple tree in the back yard only to expose its bare limbs for months to come? 

James 3:13 says “Who is wise and understanding among you?  Show by your good life that your works are done with gentleness born of wisdom.”

            This seems like fall to me, as our homes and clothing becomes more “cozy” so may our hearts and minds.  Wisdom is celebrated with the start of a new school year.  Children arrive to refreshed teachers; parents can still walk their children to school if possible.  Hands are held, hugs and kisses exchanged and new parents watch the bus pull away or peek in a window to watch their young one navigate a new classroom.  

               The old soul of autumn shares with us its wisdom, gently leading us into winter.  We will live less extravagantly as we prepare for the soon to come fuel bills.  Gardens will be harvested with thoughts of how they can be improved next year.  Clothes will be bought with the intent to last, unlike the disposable purchases of summer.  The thought of future snow storms allow us to look at our yards and homes with a practical eye.  Our backs may even begin to ache a bit as we imagine shoveling, raising the question  “is it time to pay someone else to do this?” 

               As we draw back inside our homes let us celebrate our good work, recognizing that our wisdom gives birth to gentle actions. 

As the leaves drift slowly to the ground, the oak remains dignified.