As you may recall, I am currently using ‘May I have this dance?’ by Joyce Rupp as my reflection book at the moment. I am hoping to lead a monthly discussion and reflection group using this book in the new year. One of the reasons that I like the book is that it has one chapter and theme for each month. October’s theme encourages us to learn lessons from the season of autumn. I love the colours of the autumn leaves and seeing the mist swirl early in the morning, as the dew covers the cobwebs with gemlike splendour. The berries on the trees and bushes provide rich pickings for wildlife and humans alike. Soon folk will be carving lanterns out of pumpkins and roasting chestnuts. Rupp talks about autumn as being a time of letting go, of dying even. Each leaf that falls to the ground represents a small death. It can be really hard to let go of things and places that have been part of our lives, perhaps for many, many years.
When I was clearing out the house prior to moving, it was interesting to me to notice what was easy for me to give away and what I still clung onto. Six months on in my new home, there are still boxes that I haven’t unpacked and items that I couldn’t bear to part with at the time, that remain untouched and unused. I realise now that I probably will let go of many more things before my next house move. Some of my oldest pictures look faded and tatty in this new environment. I think that this will be the last home that I hang them in. Others are hung in new places and have a fresh feel to them. It is like looking at them for the first time.
The reason that we see the fantastic autumn colours in the leaves is that the tree is also letting go. The green pigment in the leaf, chlorophyll, starts to break down, as the tree prepares for winter. The beautiful reds, oranges and yellows that we see now are present in the leaves all year round. These colours are just hidden by the chlorophyll. Once the green has gone, these other colours can be seen in their full beauty. Sometimes we need to let go in order for something else to be revealed, either in ourselves or in our experience of God. In Nature, nothing is wasted. Each dying leaf falls to ground. As it crumbles and rots, it provides nutrients for new life to grow again. It takes time for this transformation to happen and for the new growth to appear, yet all the while Nature is at work, recreating and renewing. I find this helpful to remember when I am waiting for God to act in my life. God is already at work, creating and making new. I just can’t see it yet. This week I invite you to ask God what you might need to let go of, in order for another aspect of your own beauty to be revealed.
God bless,
Cecilia
When I was clearing out the house prior to moving, it was interesting to me to notice what was easy for me to give away and what I still clung onto. Six months on in my new home, there are still boxes that I haven’t unpacked and items that I couldn’t bear to part with at the time, that remain untouched and unused. I realise now that I probably will let go of many more things before my next house move. Some of my oldest pictures look faded and tatty in this new environment. I think that this will be the last home that I hang them in. Others are hung in new places and have a fresh feel to them. It is like looking at them for the first time.
The reason that we see the fantastic autumn colours in the leaves is that the tree is also letting go. The green pigment in the leaf, chlorophyll, starts to break down, as the tree prepares for winter. The beautiful reds, oranges and yellows that we see now are present in the leaves all year round. These colours are just hidden by the chlorophyll. Once the green has gone, these other colours can be seen in their full beauty. Sometimes we need to let go in order for something else to be revealed, either in ourselves or in our experience of God. In Nature, nothing is wasted. Each dying leaf falls to ground. As it crumbles and rots, it provides nutrients for new life to grow again. It takes time for this transformation to happen and for the new growth to appear, yet all the while Nature is at work, recreating and renewing. I find this helpful to remember when I am waiting for God to act in my life. God is already at work, creating and making new. I just can’t see it yet. This week I invite you to ask God what you might need to let go of, in order for another aspect of your own beauty to be revealed.
God bless,
Cecilia
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