The following words were shared with me by friends and I felt like sharing them with you. A great truth and inspiration for the coming season! So remember, these are not my words directly – but very much so indirectly to all those who are reading, to all those whom I love, to YOU.
Leaves rustling on my white space walk.
There comes a time for letting go and a time for healing. How is autumn speaking to you?
Letting go. Letting go.
When I see leaves drift in descent from stem to the ground, they tell me autumn is coming. Autumn is here.
Letting go. Letting go.
If I’m very quiet, especially in the early mornings, I hear them rustle. A cool breeze passes through and nature’s wind chimes on branches begin their song.
The leaves fall pretty, scattering auburn and golden, supple and moist on the dewy ground.
This is the season for tenderness.
For letting go.
Necessary Endings
In the past, most of my time spent in spiritual seasons of autumn have swirled around letting go of necessary endings.
Sometimes we place such pressure on our lives to be fruitful, we lose faith and end up collapsing under our own weight.
That is when the time comes to let go of problems, people, places and even dreams that we were never meant to carry.
The work of letting go has been long and intense.
What will I have left?
I honestly did not know.
It didn’t matter. Jesus knew.
He kept leading me deep into autumn, never leaving my side, with His hand clasp in mine, holding me up, as I stood there, leaves shed, branches bared.
All that shedding, I was scared. I didn’t know if I’d even recognize myself anymore.
How wrong I was.
My long journey deep through autumn has given me a song.
Autumn’s song.
Autumn’s Song
As summer ends and autumn comes, the days get shorter and shorter. This signals that winter is coming. The trees know they need to conserve the sunlight and energy that has been captured during the summer.
They need to rest.
To rest, the trees stop making green chlorophyll, which recedes from their leaves.
As the green fades, the true colors hidden within the leaf emerges.
Red, orange, yellow and brown. They have all been there all along.
I used to hide my hurts and buried them deep in the past, because I wanted to move on.
The truth is, I wanted to cut out the parts of my story I didn’t like.
I was afraid others would see how broken I was and find me unlovable.
But, a beautiful thing happens when you’re stripped bare in the loving presence of Jesus.
He wraps His healing comfort around your heart and He does it by bringing out the truth of what’s happened. He speaks the fear that you feel and says –
I was there.
I understand.
I still love you.
These are the lyrics written in Autumn’s Song.
They weren’t just given to me on a piece of Scripture to memorize or spoken through the pulpit as I took notes in the pews.
When you find yourself ushered into a season of fall
– where activity ends
– where your days gets shorter
– where the winds of change in your life shed who you once were
Jesus Himself will sing Autumn’s Song to you.
His voice will be un.mistake.able.
Not only will Autumn’s Song be sung, an amazing miracle will happen.
When you’ve survived the longest winter of your life, God will usher in spring.
He will bring the miracle of new seeds and new beginnings back into the soil of your life.
And planted next to you will be other trees that have weathered the seasons of faith.
They will bring shade and comfort to you.
They will reach out to you and call you friend.
Sung In You
If you find yourself entering into a season of autumn or maybe it is already winter for you, let me say to you:
God’s Autumn Song is being written and sung over you.
You and I may think we are withdrawing, but in God’s eyes, He is welcoming us into resting.
It is a time of healing.
To receive comfort.
To be kind to yourself.
To unfold the layers that have kept you from tenderness.
To find the soft places under the hard.
To discover that you can be loved, are loveable, and completely, entirely safe and beautiful in His eyes.
God says, Let your light shine.
It’s another way of saying, Let your Autumn Song be sung.
Tears drifting, arms relaxing, heart breaking, body exhaling, soul healing.
Soul healing. Soul healing.
Get comfy and cozy, friend.
Autumn Song is here. Jesus is near.
Soul healing. Soul healing.
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“…We rely on the love God has for us.
…God is love… There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear.”
1 John 4:16-18
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