Month: September 2023

Someone said that Fall is nature’s way of showing how great change can be.  I agree with that wholeheartedly!   After the heat of the Summer, I look forward to cooler weather and with it comes the beauty of how creation changes from green to shades of orange, yellow, red, and brown, blending into a perfectly peaceful picture.

The first day of Fall officially arrives on the calendar on September 21 but for me it starts on the first day of September!  I want to put Summer behind me and enjoy the beautiful colors, scents, and activities of Fall.  The names Autumn and Fall have been used interchangeably for years and both refer to this colorful season of the year.  The season is appropriately named Fall because it’s the time of year when the trees shed their awesome colored leaves that fall to the ground.

Before you read down to the list, take a moment to think about this question:  What activities do you associate with Fall and what stands out for each one?

These are the ones that come to my mind:

• Hayrides – food or bedding for animals
• Corn mazes – corn on the cob
• Halloween parties – apple cider and candy corn
• Hiking – hot chocolate
• Pumpkin painting – pumpkin bread or cake, Jack-o-Lanterns
• Scarecrow – decorating, protection against crop thieves

Did you think of others?  I’d love to hear them.  Write them in the comments at the end of the post. 

The last one on my list, a scarecrow, chases away birds and other creatures from trying to snatch a free meal from the garden.  We need a scarecrow in our lives to maintain the peace we so desperately need in our lives.  At first thought, you might say Satan is the scarecrow.  In some ways he could be.  “Scarecrow Satan” could be sitting on your Bible and when you come close to pick it up to read it, he scares you off with something else to do or think about.  But I like to think in this scenario of the scarecrow as “Scarecrow Jesus”, the one who chases Satan away when we get too close to temptation or sin.  Jesus is much more powerful, safe, and effective than Satan. 

Think about the picture in your mind of Satan.  It may be the old picture of a red guy with a pitchfork.  That would certainly be a scary image for me.  But sometimes “Scarecrow Satan” comes dressed in everyday clothes just like you and me and tries to blend into the daily scenes of our lives.  After all, he doesn’t want anyone to know who he is because you might tell him to get lost.  He looks safe and may even have a clean, soft side about him.  But don’t believe it for a minute!

Now think about the picture in your mind of Jesus.  No, I don’t mean the physical attributes, but the characteristics of who He is, what He does, His loving words and actions, and the way He protects and provides for us, keeping us away from bad influences.  I like the statement on a garden flag that I saw: 

“Fall for Jesus.  He never leaves.”

How true!!!  No matter what happens in our lives, Jesus will never leave us or forsake us.  Friends or family may turn away, mock, or even disown us, but Jesus will never leave us alone.  He will always be right there by our side even when we can’t see, hear, or feel Him.

“Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.
So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.”
Hebrews 13:5-6, KJV

So go out and enjoy those Fall colors!  Here are some things you could use as a springboard for meditation while you’re out in nature:

• Brown – Thank God for the dirt that trees, fruits, and vegetables grow in, and that we have shade from the sun and food to eat.
• Yellow – Bask in the sunlight of His love and soak it into your heart to draw on when a rainy day comes.
• Orange – Pray for people around the world who have different skin color than you as well as different traditions, beliefs, and livelihoods, especially those who are being persecuted and misled.
• Red – Stop signs are red so think of red as a reminder to stop and help someone else today.  Don’t be in a rush.  Enjoy life!
• Green – Look for opportunities to share Christ with others who need Him.  Ask God to help you grow in your faith and walk with Him.

Take a walk today—not a fast run but a slow-to-moderate walk where you have time to take in everything around you.  Drink in the sights, the colors and the way they complement each other.  Breathe in the smell of fresh pine trees, dried leaves, burning wood, and the fresh crisp air.  Listen to the crunching of dried leaves under your feet, the whisper of the breeze (or howling of the stronger wind), and the rustle of animals hurriedly scavenging for food for their Winter stash.  Smile and enjoy all of God’s creation!

I was out for an evening walk and hadn’t seen wildlife for a long time near where I live.  I stopped and was talking with a neighbor in a normal volume when this mama deer and her two fawn suddenly came running out of the woods, looked over at us and put on a dance for our viewing pleasure, and then starting eating apples left by another neighbor.  Of course I grabbed my phone and zoomed in.  When I looked at the picture I took, I thought how adorable because they were all posed alike, side by side, eating.  If I had asked them to do that, I would have been hard pressed for the same response!  LOL.

What does peace look like?  In that moment I think adorable fit the description of peace for those deer.  They weren’t afraid of us being less than 30 feet from them.  They were in tune with their surroundings but chose to continue eating.  Even later when I walked a little closer to return home, they weren’t concerned.  They walked a little farther away but didn’t run off. 

Is our peace adorable???  If it’s true peace, it should look adorable to an onlooker.  Peace is something we all want in our hearts and lives, though some will never admit it.  If an onlooker sees turmoil and unrest, they won’t see adorable and won’t be interested in what we have.

Inspiring.  The dictionary defines adorable as inspiring great affection, delightful, or charming.  That deer family for me was definitely delightful and inspiring.  To think they could have been skittish, run and hid, or worse yet chase me away.  There are people who inspire me by their words and actions, and I pray that I am an inspiration to others as well.  Some people have a charming demeanor and are beautiful on the outside, but it’s the inside that really makes a person what they are.  If the inside and outside match, great!  If not, there’s a disconnect that short circuits peace.

“Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain,
but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.”
Proverbs 31:30, ESV

Charming. Liz Curtis Higgs in her blog posts to beware of princess charming.  I highly recommend reading that link because she has some very good thoughts about being a charming woman.  If you’re a man reading this post, that’s Ok, read it anyway because some men can be charming but perhaps not always in the right way.

What is adorable or charming or inspiring to you may not be so to others.  There’s been many times that someone commented such a sentiment to me about a person or thing, and I’ve had to (at least inwardly) roll my eyes and think really? because I didn’t share the same sentiments.   That’s not to say that either they or I are wrong in our sentiments, but that they don’t have to always be the same.  I struggle to come up with a good response, though, when the person who thinks something is adorable asks me what I think.  When what I’m seeing is not adorable, charming, or inspiring to me, I can’t be rude and say no, so I try to smile, or say it’s cute or something that doesn’t agree but isn’t a lie.

That reminds me of someone I was shopping with.  As we walked along, I would admire a picture or some other item simply because I thought it was pretty.  They said, but where would you put it? What would you use it for?  After a few times of this response, I finally said that I was just admiring the beauty of the item but it didn’t mean I wanted one for myself.  People’s intentions and responses can be so different and be misunderstood.  If that person took me literally when I admired the deer family, I probably would have really rolled my eyes and laughed at them! 

Back to adorable peace!  How can peace be anything but adorable or charming or inspiring when it brings such joy and calm to us?  Peace is the absence of stress and strife.  Now that is adorable!

I was out running errands one morning, not in the greatest of moods, and by the time I returned, I felt worse than when I started out.  I thought if I got out among people it might help lift my mood.  My first stop was to get my glasses repaired…I had to wait and couldn’t see to read without my glasses, so I stared out the window watching people go by.  No one was smiling.  Next step was at a store to research a solution…the associate was anything but cheerful (first customer of the day even!) and her tone of voice sounded like I was an intrusion on her morning.  I went on to my next errand at another store…the cashier looked like he did not want to be there, was yawning and complaining about having to get up and go to work so early (9:30 am is not exactly early!).  After that I had to shop at one more store…the employees didn’t look very happy and the shoppers were rushing through the aisles thinking only of their own agenda.  Last stop was the gas station…thankfully it was self-service so I didn’t have to deal with any more grumpy, depressed, tired people.

All the people I saw, talked to, and interacted with this morning were anything but peaceful in their appearance.  I asked myself have I presented myself like that to others?  I admit at times I have, but I do try to be cheerful when I’m out and about even if I’m not feeling it at home.  Our moods do affect others’ moods.  I want to lift others up and bring a smile to their face, not cause them to be in a hurry to get away from me as if I’m poison.  If I had come across one person who was truly cheerful and kind that morning, it may have changed my own mood.

“A cheerful heart is good medicine,

but a broken spirit saps a person’s strength.”

Proverbs 17:22, NLT

None of us truly knows what the other people we come in contact with is going through but we can at least give a smile, thank you, and interact courteously.  BUT on the flip side of that I have a problem when someone comes at me with overly cheerful responses when I’m having a bad day.  It’s like having a bucket of ice cubes thrown at you when you’re already cold.  I don’t always share with people the true answer to the How are you? question because I can’t handle some of the responses people give. 

I’m sorry…  goes a long way in touching the painful spots of people’s lives.  Try these to impart a peaceful feeling to the hurting without adding to their pain:

• I’m sorry you’re hurting.  PERIOD…don’t add anything else.
• I’m sorry for your loss.  PERIOD…don’t come back with “where” the person is nor any of your own stories of loss.
• I’m sorry you were treated that way.  Maybe add a touch on the arm or shoulder.
• I’m sorry that you’re not feeling well today.  PERIOD…That person does not want to think about what tomorrow might bring.  They are hurting now and just want to get through today.
• I’m sorry …  You fill in the blank, but keep it short and focused on the other person.
• Ask them if they’d like to talk, and if they do, LISTEN.
• Ask them how you could pray for them, and DO IT THEN.

Show them you care in actions rather than words that don’t always help.

Prayer:  Lord, I pray for those today who are going through struggles in life, facing situations that are trying and draining, needing wisdom and guidance, feeling lost and alone, weak and in need of strength and hope to go on.  Meet their needs.  Send myself or someone else into the moments of their day to encourage and lift them up emotionally, spiritually, and maybe even physically.  Thank You for what You’re going to do in them and in me today.  Amen.