I love fall days. The changes are beautiful and often
dramatic. Today we are at the coast and the rain came down in torrents last
night. This morning all the vegetation looks bejeweled as the sun hits on the
droplets. We drove up to Lake Cushman a few days ago, and the color in the
leaves really stood out. There has been a horrific fire burning on the north
end of the lake for much of the summer. The remains were hidden from us by low
hanging clouds and smoke that still clings in the air. Fall is full of those
contrasts, light and dark, clear and cloudy, warm and cold. It’s a season of
change.
It’s also the season leading us into the holidays. We are
now past mid-October, and as the days grow darker, they also seem to move by at
a quicker pace. Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas are all just around the
corner. Fall ushers in the holidays which are, often times emotionally, also a
time of contrasts, happy and sad, highs and lows, anticipation and
disappointment.
We arrived here at the coast to find our heat pump not
working. The house was so cold. The repairs can’t start until next week, but
meantime we learned about “emergency heat” and have that going, plus a fire in
the fireplace. We are cozy and warm, and I love that feeling. The world can be
going crazy outside our walls, storms pounding, and we are dry and safe inside.
Several years ago we had a new furnace put in, and for some
reason they were unable to finish the job in one day. It was also in late
October and growing colder outside with frost in the mornings. We were fine
inside with a few extra layers, but I was grumpy that the workers hadn’t
finished the job. Then, on my way work I passed a church hosting a homeless
camp. Those people had spent the night in tents. Suddenly, my lack of a furnace
for one night seemed so much less important, embarrassingly so. I had a
bathroom, warm shower, hot coffee. What on earth did I have to grumble about?
Life is like that. We have lots of contrasting emotions and
experiences. Sometimes we think we are the only one to experience these ups and
downs, and it’s good to be reminded that this is the human condition, not ours
alone. When we think we are the only one suffering, we need to drive past the
homeless encampment (literally or metaphorically) and be reminded of the
blessings we have. Life may not be perfect, but my guess is most of us are
doing ok, even when things break down. It could be a lot worse.
Even when we feel there are no other humans around who would
understand our plight, we need to remember God is always there. We are never
alone. There is so much grace in that truth. But, unfortunately, when clouds
come in or furnaces break, we often forget He’s there. And He’s there for the
people in the homeless encampment and the ICE detainment centers here in our
country, and He’s there for the poorest of the poor living around the world.
His presence has nothing to do with wealth or fame or living in the first
world. His presence is a grace gift He’s given to all of us, undeserving as we
are.
Better to not only accept His presence, but to also accept
His love and forgiveness. When all is said and done, having accepted God’s gift
of relationship, which is so much better than just His presence, is the key to
finding peace and contentment in our lives. If we know we are in God’s hands,
it doesn’t matter what life throws at us. We are ultimately safe and secure,
like a home in the Fall when the wind and rain hits the house we are blessed to
own, and we have a warm fire or a working furnace.
“I sought the Lord,
and he answered me, he delivered me from all my fears…This poor man called, and
the Lord heard him; he saved him out of all his troubles…Taste and see that the
Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him. Fear the Lord, you
his holy people, for those who fear him lack nothing….those who seek the Lord
lack no good thing.” Psalms
34:4,6,8,9
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