Where I live, the leaves have started to change and the air has a distinctive chill: it’s time for apple picking, pumpkins, and the change of seasons.
This used to be my favorite time of year; the vibrancy of the colors, the smell of cinnamon, soup bubbling on the stovetop on a weekend afternoon – there was something so comforting about getting out the pumpkin decorations each year and setting them around the house. There are boxes of decorations in the basement that I could go get, but I haven’t found the motivation to decorate.
I feel like an old tree, whose leaves once turned beautiful, vivid shades of red and orange and yellow, whose leaves are now brown and waiting for one strong storm to come and force them to the ground.
As I look around my world, I am increasingly aware of the other old trees and I wonder about this thing called life and what it is really all about: did The Creator have a plan here or is this all an improvisation piece?
I have more questions than answers, but it should be that way. There are too many people who believe that what they know is “right” and everyone who doesn’t look like them or believe what they believe is “wrong.” And all of that rightness leaves no room for questions or possibilities or maybes.
Maybe if we encourage our kids to ask questions – the kind of questions that don’t always have one right answer – we could see that we, like nature, are our most beautiful when the differences in our colors and textures shine through. Maybe our young trees can see that we can solve more problems with “and” than we can with “or.”
