Wednesday, November 7, 2012

A Changing Time of Year



Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.  Revelation 4:11, KJV

Here we are and it's fall again. It is just beginning to cool off from the summer heat but of course, this is Texas.  We are likely to still do some sweating before winter sets in for good.   Some of the trees are just beginning to lose a few leaves but eventually the time change combined with fall weather will be here and the leaves will turn and fall completely from the trees. Fall is one of the most glorious times of the year. It's filled with the chill of the air, football, apples, pumpkins and changes galore.  The weather changes.  The trees change.  The time changes.  We change our attire.  Activities change.  I think of all the seasons, it is the most dramatic in the change that occurs with its quickening.  It leaves one just in awe of how wonderful God is and how perfect each of His creations are.

The Changing Leaves
As I look at the fall leaves, I think about how beautiful and vibrant a creation of God leaves are. Thinking about how leaves change color can be such a lesson to us. Did you know that the yellow and orange pigments are there inside the leaf the whole time but we only see them in the fall because they are masked by so much green pigment?  That is exactly the way it is with us – we hide our true colors, or camouflage our true selves, afraid of letting others see what lies beneath.  

During the summer the tree is making food inside cells in the leaves, which contain chlorophyll, which gives the leaf its green color.  These color changes symbolize changes and growth in our own lives.  In the fall the chlorophyll breaks down because of certain elements, which cause the other pigments to break out, and we see the result…our beautiful fall leaves. During the fall the temperature drops having an effect. The days are shorter so there is less sunlight, and there is less water because of the rain level.
Like leaves, when we are sailing along without any problems we stay green and in the comfort zone. But if it weren't for the little less sunlight of a few bumps in the road in the way of trials, a few cold days of heartaches, and a little less water when we feel we can't handle the burdens, we wouldn’t become such beautiful Christians.  All the things we go through in life make us who we are. God uses all those bumps, heartaches, and burdens to bring out our color and brilliance so that we can be beautiful for Him. He is the Master Creator. He knows what He is doing. All that food or Word of God we've stored in our cells will make us stronger.

Vibrant Color
When we get back to realizing that God is the Master Creator and begin taking in how awesome and powerful He is, just like we take in the beauty of the fall, it will cause us to be a little more vibrant in our own color. Perhaps a little more vibrant in witnessing, reading our Bibles and in our prayer life. God knows us in such a personal way. He knows each situation, each thing that becomes important for us, and each thing that we have weighing on our heart. He knows every one of our joys, burdens, and sorrows. We forget sometimes that He gives us our color in only ways that He can. How beautiful and vibrant we are in Him, at our peak of color and beauty. 

Scripture to Claim:
But He knows the way I take; When He has tried me, I shall come forth as gold. Job 23:10

Adapted from Master Creator by Julia Bettencourt

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