Autumn

I'm so happy it's September - nothing beats a Canadian fall! 

Not only do I get to celebrate the days my brothers wed their beautiful brides, I get to surround myself with all the colour, the crispness, and everything else that goes along with the season of Autumn. 

The heat is lifted.

The air is crisp and clean.

The drive to work is gorgeous!

And you can get pumpkin in pretty much anything!

I don't know who this little girl is, but her expression is perfect!

It's the final burst of 'amazing' before the winter settles in, and it's my most favourite season of all. 

Autumn has always been a season that symbolized "change" really well - for obvious reasons.

It's vibrant, colourful, uninhibited, and breathtaking

.

It can also be violent, cold, unpredictable, and blustery.

For many people in my life, including myself, this seems to be a year for transition or change.

Transition can be scary. It can be ominous, and is often fought against.
It can also be refreshing, causing us to re-evaluate the things that are truly important, and see things in a new and deeper way.

The thing I've been learning about transition is this:
Good or bad,
A) it seems to happen when you need that push go forward in life, or
B) when you need reminding of the true value of the things that you already have.

 The trick seems to be determining which one. Either way, something has to end, in order for something else to begin. It just seems to be the way God designed nature to be.

I was talking recently to someone who had described the past few years of his life as "wandering through a season of transition". Job changes, family pressures, and moving from town to town, the last three years for his family felt very "blustery". There were joys, yes. But there was uncertainty. However, instead of letting themselves become beaten down by the external pressures and growing anxieties, they stayed focused on the beauty and good in their lives. They learned how to use that to gain strength during the confusion. The harshness of their situations brought out the most vibrant things that were hidden deep inside themselves.
It's been a month since I heard his story, and it still rolls around in my thoughts. It's a lesson that I hope to keep fresh in my mind, for those times when I'll need it.

It can be easy to get caught up in the scary bits. 

In the storms and the cold. 

But don't forget that there is still beauty, 

and colour, 

and purpose,
scattered all around for you to see. 

And pumpkin lattes. :) Don't forget the pumpkin lattes!