How do you view the fall season?
In Rochester, NY where I live, you will encounter a variation of two responses to this season. One group of people embrace the changing of leaves, pumpkin spice lattes, cider, sweaters, and the cooler weather. Another group of people sees fall as the precursor to the doldrums of winter expecting massive amounts of snow.
No matter where you find yourself on the continuum of these two responses, the transition of summer to autumn naturally invites us to reflect on the possible changes in our own lives.
Recently, Sandra McCracken said this in her Christianity Today article on Making Peace with Change:
The sooner we make peace with the fact that we are on a journey of perpetual change, the sooner we can move in close to the God who is unchangeable. His constancy proves him over and again to be our one steady hope.
I had graduated from college and started my first full-time job in the Philadelphia area. The church I attended began a Tuesday night service geared towards young adults. My friend Joe, the pastor that oversaw this gathering, invited me to become involved. We held services at a quaint music joint sitting at tables with candles. People around the neighborhood became interested through word of mouth.
That season brought a lot of joy to my life. I loved serving with my friends each week and watching them use their gifts of music and hospitality. We celebrated people coming to know Jesus. As I look back, I’m thankful for Joe providing an opportunity to serve as a volunteer by leading and speaking.
It became apparent that the end of this Tuesday night gathering had arrived. Many of the leaders went through significant life stage transitions. The overall interest began going in other directions.
I’ll never forget what Dan, one of the other leaders, said in our decision making, “This gathering has served its purpose. I see it more as completion than ending.”
How do you view seasons? Reframing the changes and transitions in our lives result from us seeing them as completions or endings. Endings can carry a negative connotation that we lack control. A movie ends whether we like it or not. Completion references us to purpose. It naturally reminds us of the finiteness of season. Beyond semantics, reframing seasons influences our point of view.
Fall brings us back to the reality of change. It requires us to identify our responses and tendencies of when seasons come to a completion.
The Gospel transforms us experience Jesus who makes all things new (Lamentations 3:21-23; Isaiah 43:19; 2 Corinthians 5:17). Followers of Jesus hold in tension His unchanging characteristics and an ever-transitioning world around us. When seasons changes, Jesus shines the light on our motivations, fears, anxieties, words, and reactions. We discover a new dependence on Him. We let go of unhelpful habits. We embrace the new.
Faith in seasons of change means leaving behind what you know to go towards Jesus’ leading. Will we see that as completion or endings?
The completion of the Tuesday night gathering open the doors in other ways. Small groups formed. The group of leaders began investing in other areas of the church. Even now, I see my friends have grown from that experience.
What about you? What might this season of change look like in your life? How might Jesus want to transform you?
Take advantage of viewing fall as a season of change not just in the nature around you, but in Jesus desires to do in you.
Photo by Pope Moysuh