Fall is my favorite. I love everything about it except for the fact that sometimes the snow covers the beauty of the leaves before they have been released from their seasonal home on a tree. At our cottage where we have lived the past two fall seasons, the leaves are endless! Beautiful, but endless as far as the cleanup part of things. Thank goodness that blower thing has not been offered to me to wear at this point.
When the leaves fall, the ground becomes a kaleidoscope of fall colors and my view of the lake opens up a little more each day. Then we have to clean up the leaves and if snow falls before we do that (like this year) it is a mess! Kind of like life.
There is stuff in life that is hard and we need to clean it up and dispose of it, or process it if you will, before we can move on. Then, something else happens and while we are still dealing with whatever “that” is we get dumped on some more, and it can be even heavier (like snow instead of leaves). I think you know what I mean, right? I can think of a lot of things that have happened in my life that made me feel like I was standing behind someone that was shoveling snow AND leaves over there shoulder and I was getting pummeled!
I think about some of my many attempts to quit drinking and while I was dealing with that adjustment, life still did not stop happening. I wasn’t ready for more but I didn't really have a choice. I didn't have the option to only deal with my addiction and attempts to quit as long as nothing else happened. That’s just not life or reality now is it?
In fact, I KNOW I used those sudden snow squalls that were hammering my leaf season as an excuse to drink. Maybe I was even looking for a few flakes so I could give myself permission to go to the liquor store.
It was the season of fall when I finally did quit drinking and the only reason I had any success when the blizzards of life came was that I was ready for it. I had my shovel in hand to scoop away any temptation that came my way. Maybe even a snowplow. I got into a life of recovery only when I dealt with it in the same way that we need to think about winter in Michigan.
We know it is coming- it is inevitable
We need to be prepared with the necessary equipment to deal with it
Keep in mind that it is just for a season
Know that it will gradually dissipate
Beauty will be revealed when it is gone
These five things apply to both the Seasons of Creation and Seasons of Life
Today the sun was shining and I was home for the first time in over a week in the daylight. My view had opened up immensely due to all the leaves that had fallen. On my steps (all forty-some of them) was a mixture of snow and leaves. It had left me with an icy climb this past week. I attacked each step with a shovel, scraping away both the ice and leaves and leaving a much safer step exposed. Could it still be slippery later? Yesssss. Meaning I still have to be careful when using them. Here's the magic though, I know the danger is there and the potential for harm, but I am learning to navigate it better each day. That starts with no heels and one hand free for the railing for all climbs (dang I sound geriatric.)
"I have time to break a hip" said no one ever!
If you are in a difficult season I encourage you to remember the above five tips along with this.
“His Mercies are New Every Morning.
Thank Goodness
