I’ve started to notice the signs of fall.
Hobby Lobby, Walmart, and even Home Depot are ready for fall. With Halloween and Christmas decor filling the aisles. Sometimes I question whether we rush time rather than savor each day we receive. Then we find ourselves saying, “Where did the time go?” or “This year went by so fast.”
On my nightly stroll, I notice how quickly the wreaths change on the front doors I pass. The lawn decorations seem to change just as quickly. One moment there’s a summer flamingo, then a pumpkin, and in the blink of an eye, there’s a snowman. Are we rushing time with seasonal decorations?
Look around and see the beauty of God. He has given us four seasons to embrace, not to rush through. Watching the trees change brings me joy. I love seeing the leaves fall and, months later, watching those same trees fill with leaves again. I listen to the birds singing and watch the squirrels racing up and down the trees. Anticipating that very first snowflake excites me. Then another season comes, and there I am with my bare hands in the dirt, making a little space for that first seed that I planted. There’s something so exciting about checking on it and finally seeing that tiny bit of green pushing its way through the soil.
There is beauty in every season if we give ourselves enough time to notice it. Slow down, World.
Yes, your decorations are beautiful. Hang the wreath, put out the pumpkins. Enjoy the twinkling of your Christmas lights when the time comes. But don’t forget to look beyond them and see the beauty of God’s hand all around you, the kind of beauty that can’t be brought in a store.
After my evening stroll, I come home and pour myself a cup of tea. I think about what I saw along the way. The stars above me. The sound of a cricket of a frog. That one dog barking somewhere in the distance. All those ordinary little things that could so easily go unnoticed. And I’m grateful.
No matter the season, I’m grateful that God allowed me to see another one. Maybe the years wouldn’t seem to pass quite so quickly if, every once in a while we simple slowed down long enough to notice them