Fall. A time when nature is preparing for sleep is also the time of harvest. I never experience fall without being reminded of my youth, when we spent autumn picking apples and making cider at our apple farm.

Perhaps it is a lesson for life-that when life seems to be dying it is also preparing fruit. I for one prefer sunshine and mild weather. But I also know that apples cannot grow unless they have a certain amount of dormant days. Without that "rest" they simple cannot rejuvenate. And dormant days for apple orchards mean freezing temperatures.

Nature offers us so many lessons. That's why the stillness and quiet we find in nature can be very instructive for our heart seeking souls. If you would profit, take some time to reflect on its cycle. You might even take an apple and sit somewhere quiet, so that you can enjoy the brilliant colors of trees whose leaves are turning even before they depart.

Making the Choice

Today I was encouraged by a reading from the Song of Songs: Arise, my beloved...see, the winter is past,the rains are over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth... Now, I admit, my encouragement is totally natural...the thought of spring, of blossoms, of trees budding and plants bursting forth at this time of year just heartens me! And I know I'm not alone in this!

A friend told me recently how she learned about nature early in childhood. And as she grew older, she took lessons she'd learned and applied it to her life. She remembered when things were tough that winter always gives way to spring and summer. She took hints from her travels through the woods, her learning to pay attention to not only what was ahead, but the path she came from, and applied it to her spiritual journey. And, she said, she is encouraged at the remembrance that the many birds, small and simple as they are, all had their part to play in nature.

Nature can teach us so many things. It can remind us that our spiritual journey is not so different than our walk through the woods. It can remind us through a myriad of images of God's goodness, grace, the fleeting moments we have, and hope for change. It's there for us. We must make use of these gifts.

Julia Verhaeghe writes: Everything is simple in Christ, our friend and brother. Yet, how inclined we are to make the simplest things difficult and complicated.

Sounds like the choice is ours.

The Lessons of Nature

Fall. Funny how a time when things are preparing for sleep is also the time of harvest. I never experience fall without being reminded of my youth, when we spent autumn picking apples and making cider at our apple farm.

Perhaps it is a lesson for life-that when life seems to be dying it is also preparing fruit. I for one prefer sunshine and mild weather. But I also know that apples cannot grow unless they have a certain amount of dormant days. Without that "rest" they simple cannot rejuvenate. And dormant days for apple orchards mean freezing temperatures.

Nature gives us so many lessons. That's why stillness and quiet in nature can be very instructive. Take can apple, and sit where you can imbibe the energy of nature around you, and learn.