Store up the season

Dawn Cribbs

Fall is my favorite time of year. And, not just because I was born in the fall of the year. I love the variety of fall, the crisp mornings, the October blue sky, and the snuggle down at day's end, grateful for the shelter of a home, and a warmth that will last through the night.

There are changes evident every day in the autumn scenery, both inside and outside.

The trees change with every new dawn, just a touch of red or gold to begin with, increasing every day. The gardens begin to show signs of wear, no matter how carefully tended, they know the days are shorter, and they sense the rest that is to come. Some fade quietly, the blooms a distant July memory, others blaze forth with a riotous display of autumn red and orange. The lawn mower is out less frequently as the grass slows its growth almost imperceptibly. And the sky, although thus far withholding its precious moisture, rains down leaves of every description on us, blanketing the lawns and the gardens, God's provision of a layer of warmth.

I am a morning person, rising earlier than most. Anxious to get started on the day, I rise long before the sun makes an appearance, and enjoy the fading of the morning stars. During the summer, tired though I may be, I try to stay up until the sun calls it a day, but don't always make it 'til night falls. Now that fall has arrived, I have more than ample energy to outlast the sun, and taste the end of each day.

Not only does the scene change outside each day, evidences of the changes are seen in our indoor world as well. The air conditioners are idle, no more humming outside the window, sounding suspiciously like a cash register tallying up the total. It's warm enough yet not to hear the furnace making similar sounds, perfect sleeping weather, and time again for the thick terry cloth robe set aside at summer's apex. The short sleeves and shorts become a distant memory, now buried deeply in the drawers, the closets and under the beds as we fluff our sweaters and start our own type of layering again. A brisk morning becomes warm sunshine by afternoon, and the layers peel off.

The coat hooks at work reveal the early temperatures and our forgetfulness at the end of the day, as the jackets remain behind in the warmth of the autumn afternoon. I have accumulated no less than four jackets or sweaters on those hooks this time of year. It's really the only reason I need more than one.

This, like the season just opposite, the welcome spring, is a season of preparation. Whereas spring wakes up the long sleeping earth, fall prepares it and us, for a much-needed rest. As much as I appreciate electricity and all the benefits it brings to our lives, I wonder how many of our stresses can be attributed to our false dawns, and extended nights? How many of our debilitating and chronic health problems, up to and including depression, are just because we are plumb worn out? There is no shortage of work to be done in a day, even in this day and age of "labor saving devices." Indeed, I think, even with all of them at hand, we have less leisure time to appreciate the roses we labor to grow, to take time to taste the sweetness of our kitchen labors, to sink into the freshly laundered sheets with a grateful sigh.

The Bible talks about a Sabbath Day of rest and a Sabbath year of rest for the fields. It is a gift from the wisdom of God that he ordained one day a week of rest from our labor. It is a gift from the wisdom of God that we have this season of preparation for a well-deserved season of rest for the trees, the grasses, the flowers of the field, and yes, even for us.

We have a long season coming when the trees will be barren of leaves, when the scenery will not change from day to day, unless it is only to reveal a gray patch of frozen ground surrounded by a blanket of soiled snow, or a fresh coating of white to cover again the resting earth.

I hope autumn holds on for a long time this year. I hope each one of us will take in the changing view each day, and store it up in our memories, a reservoir of hope to sustain us as we stumble through a long, dark season.

"There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven." Ecclesiastes 3:1 (NIV)