Autumn

There's really nothing quite like autumn. I have always loved autumn. Even though I grew up in southern California, where the trees had to try really, really hard to even turn a mild yellow, the fall season for me was filled with great excitement. My birthday is in October. October is awesome. In addition to my birthday, the BEST sports are in the autumn. American football, volleyball, and the World Series in baseball. And the colors of autumn are nothing short of a carnival of images that delight the senses and fill the soul with contentment and wonder. How can such beauty unfold before our eyes simply because nature takes its course? I love autumn because the weather gives us joy. We are happy for a cooling after a hot summer, but it's not yet cold. We can wear one extra layer or a fleece vest without quite needing a hat or gloves yet. Autumn is the great prelude that readies us for the difficult season of winter that awaits us. The color dazzles, the sports are awesome, my birthday gets celebrated and it's not yet cold but not uncomfortably hot either. What's there not to love?!
And so it is that as we head to November and here in Sweden, the light begins to fade, I realize even more profoundly how the mild beauty of autumn sustains. We've had a gorgeous autumn this year, with an early chill bringing on brilliant color, and a late warmth allowing us to be out and enjoy it. I noticed this afternoon that it was dusk at 3.30 and we are still many weeks away from the darkest night. Most of the leaves, beautiful as they are, are now blowing around on the ground and many of the trees are stark with nakedness. Soon it will be night at 3.15 and I will be longing for the sunshine and colors that have filled my mind and spirit with hope and joy. I am never ready for winter, but I feel better equipped to handle it because of the spectrum of color that has filled my eyes and satisfied my soul. Thank you God, for the artistry you display in the autumn. It is a gift that I have greatly enjoyed and appreciated this year.