This morning, as I sat on my back porch reading my Bible, I couldn’t help but notice the crispness in the air. My mind drifted to fall, my favorite season.
Vibrant colors. Falling leaves. Harvest. Cool breezes. A changing of seasons is upon us.
However, this was not the first time this year I have felt a changing of seasons – actually – it started a few weeks ago.
One morning, I was sitting outside on my porch swing – the temperature was in the 90’s. There was absolutely no reason for me to feel what I was feeling in the natural. Yet I felt a changing of seasons. I FELT fall coming. Despite what I could see or feel with my eyes, the feeling of Fall has stayed with me for weeks now – I can’t shake the feeling that seasons are changing, even before their time in the natural.
The Bible says in Ecclesiastes 3, “to everything there is a season.” Seasons change in life. Year after year. In the natural and in the Spirit. This is one of those times. Can you feel it?
I don’t really know all it means for the seasons to change – but I do know what I feel about Fall and what it holds.
To me, Fall represents a time where things cool down. The heat of summer fades away and cool and crisp mornings and evenings begin to usher in relief from the heat. After such an intense hot summer, these cooler mornings have brought great refreshment and hope for the scorching heat to continue to diminish. I believe that is what we are walking into – a time of things cooling down and times of refreshment. The Bible says times of refreshment come from the presence of the Lord. Could it be that the presence of the Lord will greatly increase across our nation? Could it be that His presence will bring times of refreshing that we so need in this country? And in our world? It absolutely could be! Nothing is impossible with God and ALL THINGS are possible to him who believes.
Another thing Fall brings, at least in my area, is an abundance of harvest. I believe this is another thing we are walking into during this time – harvest. The thing I have learned about harvest time is it is a busy time. It is not a time to sit down and rest. It is a time of gathering in and putting up for winter. It takes work. It takes diligence. It is not easy. But it is necessary.
Finally, Fall is a time of gathering as family. It is during this time we see more family get-togethers in my area. People come together to bring in the harvest, and then celebrate the harvest by gathering and enjoying the wonderful things their seeds and hard labor has brought forth.
Just yesterday I was at my aunt’s home where she had just picked a bunch of grapes from a twig that came from their family farm. I had not tasted these particular grapes since I was in about 10 years old. Yes, a few years back.
LOL. This grape vine had been dormant for many years when she clipped off a piece and brought it back to life. She has tended to this grape vine for about three years however, this year was the first year it produced grapes without birds, squirrel and other animals spoiling the harvest. This year was the first year she was able pick the grapes and make jelly. As I tasted of this precious harvest, it took me back to my early years, when the sweet taste was the first thing I enjoyed of the mornings when we would pick them fresh off the vine.
No one has tasted those grapes for decades! It sounds a whole lot like restoration to me. It tasted like restoration.
My friends, I know a changing of the season is taking place. Can you feel it?
May this new season bring you a cooling down of things that seem heated up in your life. May it bring you times of refreshing in the presence of the Lord.
May this new season bring you an abundance of harvest. And may this new season bring you restoration like you have never seen. This is my prayer for you.
