The fall colors are finally here! We had plenty of late rains, and the leaves are showing their colors. We live surrounded by woods, evergreen and deciduous. I look forward to seeing the combination of the green cedars and pines, along with the beauty of the colored leaves. We have golden yellow Hickory and Beech trees, red of the Red Oak, peachy pink of Wild Maple. Then the Sweet Gum trees have leaves of several colors; yellow, orange, red, and such a deep red that it looks purple. The gum trees remind me of Joseph’s coat of many colors in the New Testament of the Bible.  It’s a beautiful sight to see the many colors God paints all around us. My spirit is lifted like in the spring when I see all the beautiful flowers just ready to be planted or picked.

When I was a child, my brother and I stayed with our grandparents in the day time while Mama and Daddy worked. In the fall, Mamaw Chandler always raked the leaves that fell from the huge Water Oak in their front yard. It was about more than we could resist jumping in, so we did. She at first told us not to do that anymore, but then told us that as long as we raked them back up in a pile like we found them that we could jump in the leaves all we wanted to. That sounded like a pretty good deal to us, so we took her up on it. We had so much fun. The pile of leaves did have a “destiny,” and we knew what it would be every year. Mamaw always burned those leaves. We appreciated the time she allowed us to have playing in the leaves, and then we went on to something else when they were gone.

I still love colored leaves, and the brown crunchy ones. Even after the leaves turn there are different shades of brown. Beech trees turn light tan; Post Oaks don’t turn colors but go straight to buckskin brown. Pin Oaks turn yellow, and then medium brown of hot chocolate. I love opening the curtains so that I can see out the patio door all the colors develop and go through processing into their browns.

Even after the trees are bare of their leaves, I can see further into the woods, and maybe even some wildlife. Seeing into the woods is proof that all the vibrant color that the trees displayed so well was leading to this time of rest. This rest of the trees began from a season of spring growth, went to summer sustenance, slowing down to autumn and back around to the winter of rest again. It’s a reminder that after this brilliance of color, I can slow down and rest, too.

Have a blessed week, my friends.