As the Days Dwindle Down

“To everything there is a season,
And a time for every purpose under heaven--”
Eccl 3:1


It seems to me the seasons so parallel life…Spring-birth and childhood, innocent, fragile, in need of nurturing; Summer-youthful, carefree, unpredictable, sometimes stormy, and hot!; Autumn-maturity, serenity, acceptance and adulthood; Winter-the golden twilight of life, serenely nostalgic, reminiscing, and preparing to return home to our Father. Why not equate winter with death? Simple, Winter is not death, but a preparation for new life to come. Casting off the old to be reborn into new life.

We’re all kind of used to it, inured to the necessity of the routine of daily life. Sometimes barely, and sadly, unaware of how life is changing all around us. We hardly even notice this amazing cycle of life and the changes it brings…so much beauty, so much to see, so much to miss with our hustle-bustle, day-to-day “busyness”. Take a break, take the time to stop and really see the wonders God works on this corner of the universe, this little blue marble we inhabit. Step back, relax, and soak in September’s song.

It has all been occurring with predictable consistency since the beginning of time---

“That which has been is that which will be,
And that which has been done is that which
Will be done.
So, there is nothing new under the sun.”
Eccl 1:9

September evenings, longer now with the earlier setting sun. A prophetic forecast of the coming autumn and winter. Autumn days, some as warm and sultry as a day in August, some with the chill of winter’s bite in the air. For some it’s a welcome respite from hot, hazy, humid summer…for some a sad farewell, see you next time. It’s all a matter of taste, I suppose.

"Try to remember the kind of September
When life was slow and oh so mellow
Try to remember the kind of September
When grass was green and grain so yellow…
Try to remember and if you remember
Then follow--follow…"
- Try to Remember, Jones/Schmidt


Yes, autumn is such a beautiful season, a gentle transition, just as spring is an awakening, a birth and rebirth…autumn is a waning, the earth gently returning to herself. It is God’s plan, just as He has designed our lives, so He has designed the life of mother earth.

Evenings are refreshingly cool, the silence pleasantly broken by the chirping of the last crickets songs until silenced by the cold to come. Bumblebees are lazily kissing the last roses of summer and the profusion of fall blossoms-soft lavender dusty miller, the contrast of bright red salvia, a kaleidoscope of marigolds, regal chrysanthemums, all arrayed in their autumn finery.

I love to watch the leaves drifting down in little rivulets on the soft breeze, in torrential showers of color with the northern winds…red, orange, yellow, rust, bronze. Little splashes of green holding on as if clinging to life with their last breath. A solitary green leaf clings tenaciously to the very tip of a branch. The trees shed their raiment in preparation for a long sleepy winter only to be clothed in white, as though wearing a coat of ermine, with the first falling snows.

How delightful it is when acorns come raining down with the strong autumn winds, drumming their rat-a-tat rhythm on the rooftop and on the pavement. Falling to the ground for all God’s little creatures to harvest. Squirrels and chipmunks scurry to and fro in my yard busily gathering them and the fruits still clinging to the bushes. Stocking their little larders with golden-brown acorns for a sleepy mid-winter feast, to sustain them until the first fruits of spring once again break forth. Time to start filling the bird feeders again. Time for the last visits from the Chickadees with their pert little black caps, the Mourning Doves with their soulful cooing, the fleeting flashes of the bright little Goldfinches. The beautiful Cardinals will stay, their plumage somewhat dimmed by the season, along with the tenacious little sparrows, they will feed through the winter on the bounty we provide. Just as God in His infinite mercy and miracle of creation provides us with a bounty of autumn sustenance for our bodies--pumpkins and squash in a rainbow of hues, tubers, grains, greens, and so much more. As He sustains our souls with His word and promises of new life to come, He sustains our physical bodies with His bountiful fruits of the earth and the eternal promise of the coming of spring and re-birth.

I am not saddened by the waning of summer and the entrance of autumn on this stage of life. I am amazed and elated by once again seeing the miracles and the cycles of life and living. I am filled with the wonder of all the sights, scents, and sounds He has provided to thrill my senses. This is God’s bountiful gift to us, this world of wonder, of change, of delight. These are the precious days I’ll spend with Him.

"Oh, the days dwindle down to a precious few
September, November…
And these few precious days I’ll spend with you
These precious days I’ll spend with you."
Anderson/Weill