If Leaves Could Talk

Hello Friends,

I hope you are doing well and have been able to enjoy the last remaining days of Summer! That’s right; Summer officially ends this week. Can you believe that? On Tuesday, September 22nd, Summer will transition into Fall. For a little over 90 days, we have been enjoying early morning sunrises, late evening sunsets, beautiful flowers, and taking mini-vacations over the weekends; and now, in just a few days, things will change. The sun will rise later, the sun will set earlier, mornings will be cooler and crisper, sweatshirts will be worn, and after a long day of being outside many will gather around bonfires to stay warm.

When I was your age, I remember raking leaves into giant piles and jumping into them. I remember roasting marshmallows over a bonfire after holding hotdogs over hot flames. I remember throwing the football around with my dad in the front yard. I remember having this urge to want to be outside. I remember waking up early to have a mug of hot chocolate with my mom. There is something special about the Fall Season! Are you ready for Fall? What about Fall do you love?

Since Fall is just around the corner, I thought I would offer a simple Fall message; but I need you to use your imagination. Imagine that I am holding a treasure box and that it is full of Autumn leaves of all different colors.

One of the reasons I love walking in the woods during the Fall is the leaves. Their colors can be striking and it can be very refreshing to the spirit. I have also discovered something else about leaves. It goes back to a verse in Psalms 19:1: “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.”

I have discovered that God can “talk” to me through things like leaves. No! It is a not a real voice. But God can remind me of some very important truths about him as I look at the Fall leaves.

Every year God replenishes the leaves on a tree. Every year He gives us colors that are beautiful and exhilarating. Every year He lets the leaves fall to the ground and decompose in order to nourish the forest floor. Every year He amazes us by how He changes the seasons and by how He continually performs miracles that change our life. God is always working within His creation. And during the season of Fall, we can see His workings in wonderful ways, especially through the changing of leaves.

My point is that God is always talking care of His world in quiet ways that we might miss. God is also always giving us evidence that He is with us when He does this too!

For me … it is the way God “whispers” his presence to me in a reassuring manner. I have discovered that if I will listen closely and watch carefully that God will show me His love and presence in a lot of surprising ways! For example, while I was taking a walk through the Forest Preserve, on the path, I noticed a leaf that had what looked like a heart stamped out of it. I held it up to the sun and a heart shaped shadow appeared on the ground. It was a wonderful reminder that God’s love shines on His creation–which includes you and me–and leaves a lasting imprint stamped on our heart.

Even though leaves can’t talk, they still give us a message. That message is that God is still working in His creation. God is still in the business of changing things. God is still in the business of loving us. And God is still in the business of leaving an imprint in our life. Through these leaves, I think God is giving us a challenge: “We need to fall in love with Jesus because he never leaves us.”

I want to encourage you to start looking and listening to the whisper of God and how He takes things like leaves and gives you a warm feeling of love and acceptance.

Be on the look out this Fall for some beautifully colored leaves!

Your Friend, Holy Spirit!