Embracing Change in the Seasons

Check out the featured post and read more here: https://www.ibelieve.com/devotionals/ibelieve-truth-a-devotional-for-women/embracing-change-in-the-seasons.html

For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven” (Ecclesiastes 3:1, NLT). 

As summer fades into fall, I’m hit with an array of emotions. If I had it my way, I’d live in 90-degree temperatures year-round. Unfortunately, Ohio living doesn’t offer quite a luxury vacation. The four seasons are beautiful, stunning in their splendor and varying degrees. But each one requires us to embrace change. 

Since I started writing full-time, I’ve been making daily walks without technology a practice of mine. While many days are easier than others, I love it. Not only do I get a mental refresh, but I notice I can meditate and talk to God more clearly. No distractions, music, urgent texts, or temptations to do emails. Just me, nature, and my God. 

Last week, during one of my walks, I noticed a familiar maple tree turning slightly orange. I thought to myself how terrifying it must be to be a leaf. To be forced into change so quickly, yet slowly—paradoxical at the same time. To not know the future that lay ahead. And I thought to myself, I wonder if it’s better that way?

Leaves, like many of us, embrace beautiful seasons. Spring and summer bloom beautiful flowers and lush pastures. Fresh greenery lights up every face. But fall and winter tell a different story. Though they are stunning, their contrast can seem harsh. Crisp reds, burnt tangerines, and faded yellows are not the known and familiar sage evergreens we’re used to seeing. 

For a moment they are breathtaking. In a second, they are gone. Empty and barren trees fill their places. I wonder if the leaves wonder what’s happened to them. Where have they gone? And yet, they embrace the change in seasons, knowing there is beauty in every one of them. Knowing there is something even more beautiful to come.