Autumn calls us to moments of grace when we can pause and soak up the glory of God. Then something  happens. The winds blow, rains pour and clinging leaves lose their grip and tumble to the ground.  If you are fortunate to live on a leafy street as I do, then you know that this time of year also  means lots of raking, leaf blowing, bagging and sweeping. If it rains, it means  being careful not to slip on wet leaves if you’re walking and not to skid on them if you’re driving. Day by day trees lose not just the color that favors our days, they also lose the leaves that cover our yards.  

 Such is my faith journey.  My best spirit-filled seasons are filled with  awe,  joy and thanksgiving. Much like the time I hiked up a mountain trail in Jackson Hole, Wyo., and reached the top. Standing there  and surveying  the fall greenery below and the cloud-dappled sky above,  the conviction that I can truly do all things through Christ radiated through me. I knew I was in the presence of a mighty God.

 I’ve experienced that mountain top sensation many times since as I have grown in my relationship with God. It has come after spending time in a community of sisters at a church retreat, where women have shared, cried and worshipped together. It also has come during  individual disciplined study and prayer as I have searched for and found answers to questions troubling my heart.    A good sermon, with a message that seems directed specifically to me, also has lifted me to new heights. 

  On the flip side, there have been times I  have felt like I’m climbing a mountain in fuzzy bedroom slippers. Those were my dry days — days when I felt like I could nothing right.  Have you ever had those? Sometimes I go though a stretch when I just cannot focus during prayer or Bible study. My spirit is weaken from being too busy and feeling overwhelmed. I have gone on walks to meditate and clear my head and instead come back with more things on my mind than before. I’ve come realize that during those seasons it’s okay to pull away briefly from church activities and other peopled functions to regroup. Then I work hard to clear away the dryness. What I have come to know is that the same things that I do to elevate my soul are even more necessary to break through the  morass that clogs my spirit. 

Right now I am taking delight in today, colorful leaves and drab leaves both. Because I know that good days follow bad.

Related posts:

1. Enjoying autumn’s colors
2. Let’s exalt the Lord today

When I looked out of my bedroom window, the view of the fog was different.  Not quite as hazy, not so misty.  Not as much cloud making contact with the asphalt in front of the house as there was with cloud making contact with the grass in back of the house.

 As I meditated in the morning stillness, the words to Carl Sandburg’s poem, Fog, came to mind. It goes:

The fog comes

on little cat feet.

It sits looking

Over the harbor and city

On silent haunches    

And then moves on.        

The fog didn’t stay long.  It gave way to a partly sunny morning filled with promise.

Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

 As much as I enjoy sitting safely in the comfort of my home and watching the fog, I enjoy even more a clear day.  Today reminded me of times when my faith was shrouded in fog, when family strife or workplace disappointments clouded my day, when lost opportunities and failed attempts left me in a haze.   When circumstances and complexities fell like a curtain on my best efforts.

And thankfully, those thoughts didn’t linger.  They moved on. I’ve learned over the years to change my perspective when I find myself looking backward.  My faith gives me a forward viewpoint.  I cannot see the future but I know a God who can and that makes waking up to foggy days a blessing waiting to unfold.

 What’s your favorite kind of day and why?

Related posts:

1. Finding a personal faith
2. Deepening faith through spiritual direction
3. Holding on with a knuckle-like faith