As summer turns to fall, my heart begins to well with excitement! I love the fall season for many reasons. First, I love the changes in God’s creation. I greatly appreciate the vibrant color on the trees that continue to change throughout the season. The placement of the sun in the sky in the fall provides long shadows and rich color. The air begins to cool, and yet there are still moments when the sun warms your body. Second, I love how many things that have been put on hold for the summer resume again in the fall. There are many more opportunities to fellowship with believers in the various ministries and a schedule is again established. Because autumn is by far my favorite season, I decided to include it in the title of my blog. God has given me a particular love for His earthly creation. The beauty of it draws me closer to Him and reminds me over and over of His abundant grace. He teaches me to love Him more by way of his creation.
Recently, I had the opportunity to backpack in the beautiful mountains of Washington state. As I was walking along and appreciating the beauty, I realized how quickly I see the beauty and give God praise. I am so thankful that God has given me the eyes to see His creation and the desire to praise Him. However, I began to wonder why I don’t regularly see that same beauty in my day to day life with people. When I am with people, I am much slower to see God’s handiwork. In fact, I often don’t see it all. I choose to see their outward appearance, their personality, or their preferences, rather than God’s work in their life. God challenged me to look more carefully into the lives of those around me to see what He is doing. A friend also reminded me today to be looking for the ideal moment for ministry in a person’s life; and to be praying for eyes to see it. God has designed for us to minister to one another, but He has ordained divine moments when it would be best to confront, best to encourage, best to minister. I desire to be looking in every day, in every conversation for these moments. There are far more opportunities to praise God for His handiwork. I hope that this blog will be an opportunity to praise Him for these works in my life and in the lives of those I know.
Autumn Grace 