Thinking about autumn brings to mind woodlands splashed with reds, oranges and golden yellows. Oops, this is Florida! No rich-hued landscapes, but the season has changed. We’ve welcomed the cool refreshing breezes that come with the rising of the sun, before the heat of the day sets in.

I think of the familiar words from Ecclesiastes 3:1-2
“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:
a time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted.”

Year after year, we experience Mother Nature’s changing of the seasons. We accept these changes as a matter of course.

Perhaps it’s a little more challenging to look at the “changing seasons” of our individual lives. Solomon points us to “a time to be born, and a time to die.” Well, that’s certainly true, but it’s a little more comfortable to add a few seasons in between. Perhaps a season of childhood, a season of becoming adults, a season of productivity and raising families, and yes, the autumn in which our days are numbered. We’re reminded that our life on this planet does not last forever, but God’s rule is good for all time and all eternity.

Whatever season of life you find yourself in today, it is good. It is all part of God’s great plan. If you, like me, find yourself in the autumn of your life – let your days be colored with brilliant hues of love and understanding. We may find that with a lifetime of experience, we’ve mellowed a bit — perhaps a warmth and understanding of others that we didn’t know when we were in our younger days.

I pray that you will let your faith be renewed daily by the Almighty God who loves you. Remember, He loves you unconditionally in every season of your life.

Judy