God’s amazing artistry
Even thought it’s late October here in Georgia, most of our leaves are stubbornly hanging onto the trees. Most of them in my yard are still green too, but as I look around, I have begun to notice that there are many on the ground as well. But, the ones on the ground are brown. It’s like they went from green to brown without turning the brilliant color that they always do. They skipped the beautiful part.
As I was scrolling through some pictures the other day, the one above caught my eye. I really love that picture. The brightly colored leaves reflecting in the water, capture some of God’s greatest creativity. Because of the way light works, we get to see the brilliance twice, once looking directly at the trees and then again in the reflection.
My sweet mama took that photo and felt inspired to send it to me. I was so glad she did.
As I was enjoying that photo and feeling a little cheated that my trees don’t look like that this year, I was reminded that there are likely several reasons for that. For one, Georgia has had record high temperatures this fall. It’s been regularly in the eighties. It doesn’t feel like fall. Then there’s the fact that we are in extreme drought. I’m no tree expert, but I suspect that the lack of rain, may have something to so with the leaf color.
But, the fact is, we are still in the season of fall. Even though it’s hot and dry, even though it doesn’t feel like fall, or look like fall, it’s still fall. The leaves will eventually drop and it will turn colder. Thanksgiving is on the way despite the way the landscape looks at the moment.
Haven’t we all found ourselves in a dry season like this one? Haven’t we all found ourselves longing for some cool and refreshing air? Haven’t we found ourselves longing for some beauty and color when everything seemed drab and brown?
Even in those dry times, if we look back carefully, we can see that God was at work even when it didn’t feel like it at the time. Those times can serve as a reminder to us when we find ourselves there again, that God is in fact at work in the background. Even though our skies may not be emblazoned with beauty, there are still glimpses of hope if we are willing to actively seek it.
The Bible tells us that: “God is light and in him there is no darkness at all.” 1 John 1:5b
The brilliance of those leaves reflected in the pond, comes from the light provided by the sun, the light created by God. The picture reminds me that even in seasons of drought, seasons of beauty are always on the way. This journey on this side of heaven will always be filled with both.
If we find ourselves in a time of drought this fall, we can hold onto the hope that Thanksgiving and reasons to give thanks, are still on the horizon, even when we can’t feel them or see them. That’s called faith. God is at work and we never walk alone.
A photograph reminded me. Perhaps you needed reminding too.
Have an awesome day!
Wendy 🙂