“Fall, leaves fall; die, flowers, away; lengthen night and shorten day;
Every leaf speaks bliss to me. Fluttering from the autumn tree” —Emily Bronte, Fall, Leaves, Fall
I took this tonight and had to save it with dozens of other sunsets I have taken. I never get tired of them.
How do you feel about the fall season? Some are invigorated and happy with the cooler weather. Others feel an uncomfortable nagging feeling of sadness. Is it that plants and grasses are dying and soon the landscape will be bare and brown? The cold is approaching and for me there is an expectation of warm blankets, cozy slippers and hibernating with good books. There is a wonderful warmth that greets you when you come in from picking up groceries, shoveling your car out of a drift or taking a walk in the white beauty of a new snowfall.
For some, fall signals the onset of Season Affective Disorder or SAD. My mother always said the fall made her sad and I didn’t quite understand until I got older. I get it now—in some ways we are more alone, more shut in as winter sets in. We really tasted the stark aloneness during the pandemic. I’m privileged to live where I can find others to talk to, play games with, if I choose. But it is good to know that if I need help, there are neighbors who would come if I called.
So as we lean into fall, I pray you find the peace in the beauty of the land, and are invigorated by coolness and the beginning of a new season. Don’t shut yourself in. Find things that are fun and that keep you engaging with other people.
The last few weeks have been challenging. I have struggled with my choices. I wanted to free up some time, but the activities that took up my time are all worthy pursuits. Once before I stopped my nursing license, then renewed it for the pandemic. I had a much easier decision when I gave up my anesthesia credentials as a CRNA. I knew that at my age, even 12 years ago, I had no business staying in the operating room as an anesthetist. Although COVID-19 is not over, it is much more manageable now. So I stepped back from a volunteer clinic and I am doing less vaccinations now…
What should I concentrate on now? No one knows their expiration date, but getting older has definitely brought it to my mind more often. I am soon to be a great-grandmother and I find that so exciting. I question if I’ve made any positive impressions on my family that will be remembered. I also want to be remembered as someone who enjoyed her life and had fun, faith, and valued family.
“Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you.–Anne Lamott, writer.
I will lift mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth. Psalm 121:1,2 (KJV)
I fell in love with that Psalm while traveling out west for the first time with my family. The mountains were so grand and the vast open spaces called to me. As we got out of our camper to stretch our legs, I twirled around on a hillside like Julie Andrews in The Sound of Music.
Since that day, I have been able to capture a little of that free, light feeling by visualizing those mountains. Today, the smaller mountains I can see also have that effect on my mood. The view from my window, hills snow-covered and bathed in sunlight, fills me with a sense of peace and the never-ending presence of God. I think about how the hills aren’t going anywhere and neither is the Lord.
My cat, Willow, has discovered her little bit of sunshine on a pillow on my bed. Just as her help must come from me, mine must come from God. The help comes from the hills because God made the hills. If we could see beyond each hill, we would see more clearly, and to the source of help.
Resurface. Reupholster. Repaint. Refinish. Make something old new again!
Natalie DiScala
I’ve thought a lot about recycling. My building does a good job, but there are somethings that can’t be recycled–black food containers, plastic straws, etc.
I am thankful that God can take all our ugly sins and the trash of our lives and assure us that we are a forgiven people. That is if we give the garbage to God totally. What is returned to us is a new clean heart. This is what I have learned over the years and finally came to understand.
All is fresh and clean after the rains today. Thoughts, soul, spirit
Connie's Comments and Verse 