“As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter,
Day and night will never cease” Genesis 8:22

Seed time and harvest- the dependable turning of the seasons! Each year I enjoy the beginnings of the autumnal colors coming into view on our trees. After summer’s heat I look forward to wearing a sweater on a cool evening or a crisp Fall morning. Apple picking, leaf raking, pumpkins in abundance, mums in bright orange, purple, and yellow signal the predictable and refreshing change of season. All of this is true any year.

In 2020, I find myself grateful for the predictability of almost anything, including the coming of the autumn season. In the midst of turmoil in public affairs, confusion over school schedules, alarming fires, distressing and seemingly contradictory health warnings, I find a quiet comfort in Fall’s predictable, even subtle, emergence. There is a wonderful “in-betweeness” to autumn – no longer hot beach weather, not yet the bone chilling shock of winter. This is the season for bringing some things to conclusion and beginning some new things. Time to cover the swimming pool, harvesting the last of the summer crops but, also time to plant bulbs that will blossom in spring and beginning the endless task of raking leaves. Comfortable patterns of ebb and flow. The beauty of God’s creation is on full display in these days. And deep comfort is to be drawn from Genesis’s sure promise that as long as earth endures we can count on the rhythms of the seasons.

With all the changes, surprises and inconsistencies of 2020 this pattern of seasonal change reminds us of the immutable force of life in all and above all. My hope for each of you is that you will find in this season a moment to appreciate life’s beauty, recognize God’s creative hand and lend yourselves to the tasks of this season, hopeful for the days to come.

May you feel God’s presence every step of the autumnal way,

Pastor Eileen