On Beauty in Seasons

The writer of Ecclesiastes said,
He has made everything beautiful in its time 
(Eccl. 3:11 ESV)




We just spent the last couple of days together in the car on the road to see some glimpses of a small bit of that beauty.


Leaves in glorious fall colors displayed in all the grandeur that we have come to expect from years of looking at pictures.


We were not disappointed...those colors showed up and showed off!


Myriad hues of reds and oranges, yellows and greens and browns - all that you could possibly dream!

A stunning display set in a garden near the foothills of the Appalachian mountains.


Just beautiful.


But this dazzling scenery is only there for us for a brief period.

Soon this beauty will be replaced with bare branches.

Winter brings a new and different backdrop.

The black silhouettes of empty branches will soon stand out against a brilliant snow covered background

... and we will be provided a new look in that new season.


And then spring will come... and summer.

Each season brings its unique kind of beauty.


This is true whether in seasons of nature or during seasons of life.

There is always some beauty all around us.

And like the foliage of this season, the beauty does not last long.

If you don't open your eyes to see it, you can miss it.


Look at that little one near you and you will know exactly what I mean.


Too often we can be blinded by the hard or the ugly in our seasons and miss the gloriousness in the moment.

Because honestly, there is hard to be found in this life. And hard does demand our attention.

Seasons of pain and suffering, disease or loss are hard!

Sometimes, just getting up and going through your day can be hard.

Talk to young moms in their often overwhelming tasks of keeping up with all that is involved in preparing little lives for future years.

They will tell you that they also know something else.

They know that the hard days are not all there is to this season.

There are also times of beautiful in the little voices learning to say I love you, and Mommy.  The little dimples on the backs of little fingers, and at the edges of little smiles. The snuggles and kisses. The twinkling eyes and the first songs sung... with so much emotion it takes your breath away!

They just open their mouth ... and let it go :)



The springtime of life does not hold the ticket to hard.

There  is also hard on the autumn side of life too.

The turning loose of hopes and dreams side of life.

The saying our goodbyes side as our little ones leave home.

The realization that winter is just around the corner side.



Spring's beauty is wrapped up in new growth but Autumn's is signalling an end.

I read some about autumn leaves to find out what is behind these gorgeous colors this time of year.

While the green is a result of chlorophyll in the leaves, as the tree prepares to shed its leaves, the supply of chlorophyll is slowly shut down.

And the colors of the leaves that we see in the fall begin to appear.

 As sad as it is to think the trees are preparing to lose their leaves for the winter months, God has created them to do it magnificently.

Every stage of their life is a beautiful display of His glory...

We are also created to give Him glory.  In every stage of our hard and beautiful life!

Fall can be a reminder for us to focus our attention in that direction.
To open our eyes to see His glory.
To live each day for His glory.

While it is easy to be sad as we watch days go by faster and faster,  we do have today.

And today there is beauty for us to enjoy.

For He has made everything beautiful in its time...

In whatever season He has placed us, we need to be looking for ways that His glory can be displayed in our lives.

By our actions as well as our words.

Because He makes it all beautiful in its time... and this is our time, where we are right now.

Where ever that might be.

-----------------------------

The pictures I used for this blog were taken by me in a garden in Georgia called "Gibbs Garden"
 You can read about it here:   http://www.gibbsgardens.com/
It is even more gorgeous than my pictures can show!

Thanks Teresa Thomas for posting your pictures and whetting our appetities :)
It was a journey we will not forget.