I love Fall! I love the cooler nights, the bonfires, the jeans, the jackets, and the trees. I love the contrasting leaf colors, how the wind can blow the trees, and how the leaves fall and float in the air. It’s such a magical and beautiful scene.

I was a bit distraught in junior high when I really put it all together that the leaves were changing colors because they were dying. They died so the tree could prepare itself for winter and get ready to produce again in the Spring. And, here I was celebrating in the dying of the trees and calling it magical and beautiful.

And, yet, it is magical and beautiful. The nights become longer in the Fall, so the tree can hold on to sugars made through photosynthesis for its food. It is preparing for the winter months when there will be even less sunlight to aid in the photosynthesis. This storage of food allows the trees to prepare for Spring when it’s time for new growth.

Our lives are a bit like these trees. We go through stages of our lives where it is appropriate for us to move on; or die to a certain part of our lives. We call them seasons of life. We might be in high school and getting ready for college. A season is ending and a new one is starting. You might be going from a job you’ve held for a while to a new one. What about getting married? What about getting a divorce? What about having children? What about a true death of someone you love? All seasons. All changes. Funny how it correlates to the trees and the seasons of a year.

The question you need to ask is how you respond to the changes of the seasons in your life. When it’s time for change, do you allow parts of your life to “die off” so you can store up and prepare for a new season, or do you try to hold on and end up completely dying because you refuse to let go of the leaves in your life?

Without moving on, losing leaves off our trees, we would never leave home for college. We would never give up our first job to move on to a better paying job. We wouldn’t get married, have kids, or move to new places if we didn’t decide to let the beautiful and magical changes of life happen. Do you realize how wonderful you can look to someone on the outside when you effectively allow your colors to change and you store up for the winter months of your life? Only then can you become a blooming tree in the Spring.

What changes are you going through in your life? Is God calling you to change your colors? What season of life are you in right now? Be beautiful!

© 2014 Susan M. Sims

Follow me on Twitter or Facebook.

Looking for a small group Bible study? Look no further: Being Transparent: With Yourself, God, and Others