Faith, Family, Forests and the Field: Thoughts On Fall 2016

Many people will admit to having a favorite season. For most of my life I have very simply stated that my favorite season was winter. Even though I still have great affection for the colder temperatures, snow and stark contrast of winter, I have to admit that my favorite season has changed to fall.

Maybe I am oversimplifying things, but I am absolutely mesmerized by the fall foliage with its bright yellows, burnt orange shades and vibrant, fiery reds. More than ever I have the daily urge to just sit outside and experience the sensations of the fall season. I can sit at night on my patio with flames ablaze in the fire pit and look upward through the thinning trees at the moon and stars through the clouds. Even the sky is different. Everything is crisper like the night air heralding that winter will be here soon. The clouds are lower, and faster moving.

And it seems quieter, both in the day and the night. The sensation is one of rest and tranquility.

The squirrels gather the acorns from between the bricks on the patio and scurry off to the places of hiding in preparation. At night, the Great Horned Owls can be heard at both close and long distances in the evening. Deer walk through my back yard, stopping to look at the oddity of the fire keeping us warm as we watch in silence.

By “we” I mean Rhiannon. Of all the family, she ventures out “into

Rhiannon warming by the fire

the yard” with me the most. She has taken to being the one who ventures out onto the darkened patio, lighted on by the fire pit. She has learned, as I have, that there are many things to be seen out there later in the evening. We talk about the clouds, trees, stars and animals that tend to wander through. Recently, the Super Moon was even a lengthy topic of discussion. We sit wrapped in jackets and scarves in our Adirondack style chairs. She plays music from the '80s on her tablet (usually the bangles or Fleetwood Mac) interspersed with a little Kid Rock on occasion (in this case the words "when the leaves begin to change" in All Summer Long fit perfectly). She is sometimes wise beyond her years in the conversations.

The night the deer first came was a bit of a surprise. Rhiannon and I were sitting, watching the fire when we heard what sounded like a person slowly walking through the leaves in the dark just outside the glare from fire. Rhiannon walked to the edge of the darkness and I heard her say quietly, with subdued exclamation, "It's a deer!" It was quickly followed by "and it has antlers!"

Fall seems to better frame things like patio time with my eight year old daughter. Fall, however, offers so much more. I have already mentioned the colors, but not yet the scents... everything from fireplaces lit for the first cool nights and leaves being burned to apples and spices being baked into some delectable dessert creation fit for autumn.

Peter working the leaves

The grass growth subsides, needing far less attention in cutting but the work is replaced in shuffling leaves around, mulching, burning or bagging. The onslaught of leaf management can actually be a blast for engaging your children in a huge job that they can make for some great family time. Seeing eight year old twins use a large push broom to amass thousands of thumb-sized acorns is entertaining to say the least. I guess I have already mentioned that I am mesmerized to the point of fixation with fall foliage. The colors of the trees are as varied as the light shining through many varieties of wines.

But there are many other things that come around chiefly in the fall...

St. Mary's Cornette Ball at the
West Baden Springs Hotel

Elaborate fundraising events requiring a tuxedo for me and a formal dress for the wife seem to be a staple of the season.

The first full week of October brings the massive event that is the West Side Nut Club Fall Festival... rides, games, food booths with deep fried everything and the parade. A week when everything in Evansville focuses on several blocks of west Franklin Street.

Halloween events and the grand gathering of candy by going door to door which is preceded by weeks of the kids deciding exactly what this years elaborate costume is going to be. Not to mention that our new neighborhood sees this as the most amazing party in Evergreen Acres... hot dogs, hot chocolate, popcorn machines and games; again, amazing. I cannot fail to mention the Halloween

Pumpkins distributed at Holiday World

themed weekends at our regional Theme Park, Holiday World in Santa Claus, Indiana. With the water park portion already closed in the cooler weather, the rides and shows get the attention they deserve. Halloween Weekends are a great way to finish off Holiday World Season passes. Do not miss these ride filled weekends. Rhiannon got to ride the Raven Roller coaster eleven times back to back and her and Peter were on the last ride of the season too.

It is time for the Cub Scout Rain Gutter Regatta and selling Boy Scout popcorn.

The church year rolls around and Reformation Day and All Saints Day are celebrated indicating that Advent is right around the corner.

Michael as Crucifer on All
Saints Day

My drives to and from Indianapolis become a bit more vibrant with all of the color and the crisp fall air.

Pumpkins become a staple of decoration and the mums begin to truly show their variety of color with some growing to be very large and round.

Coffee takes on a whole new dimension as the temperatures are perfect for sitting outside and slowly enjoying a great cup of dark roast.

Dishes such as turkey, sweet potatoes and pumpkin pie start to affect our forward thinking as we await Thanksgiving. Of course, many of us think it can go a bit too far as "pumpkin spice" flavored everything overcomes common sense and advertising. Face it... a pumpkin spice cream filled Twinkie is some form of abomination.

Thanksgiving brings a long weekend to many that includes gatherings, large meals, shopping and putting up and decorating a tree heralds the month long march to Christmas.

But tonight brings a change.

In Southern Indiana, when the autumn rains hit, it starts to get colder. and even though winter technically begins over a month from now, the beauty and comfort of fall starts to fade away.

The rains came tonight. The temperatures will now start to drop and the grey clouds of winter will be more prevalent in the nighttime sky.

And this brings me to Ecclesiastes, the third chapter, verses 1 - 15 (quoted here from the ESV):

A Time for Everything

3 For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:

²a time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
³a time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up;
⁴a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
⁵a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
⁶a time to seek, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
⁷a time to tear, and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
⁸a time to love, and a time to hate;
a time for war, and a time for peace.

The God-Given Task

⁹What gain has the worker from his toil? ¹⁰I have seen the business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with. ¹¹He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man's heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. ¹²I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live; ¹³also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil—this is God's gift to man.
¹⁴I perceived that whatever God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it. God has done it, so that people fear before him. ¹⁵That which is, already has been; that which is to be, already has been; and God seeks what has been driven away.

Things change.
Sometimes the shift is predictable like the seasons. Other times, change comes as a huge surprise to us.

Either way, God is in control. Whether it be the season, a death in the family or even the election of a leader; God is in control. Surprises are only surprises for us. We should be joyful in our toils. We have been given our tasks. Fall is ending. Winter is coming. I find joy in winter also and I cannot wait until the first snow falls.

And so it is with age as well... the season of life will someday end as well.

And so seasonal change is at hand. I will be putting out corn for the deer so we can continue to watch them from inside. The coffee will now be sipped indoors and the leaves will be gone until they start anew in the spring.

It is a Friday night.

The wife and the twins are at a Cub Scout lock-in event. Michael is

home from his tasks early as the sudden cold rain slowed the customer flow at the restaurant where he works. Luke is down in feeling under the weather and nursing a headache. I sit alone, typing out my thoughts on computer key board with a glass of Zinfandel as the rain drops from the sky outside.

A Friday night... the work week is done. It is time to concentrate on family and the infrastructure of the home. Cleaning and organization for winter will be the mantra of the coming weekend.

The catharsis of writing reaches its end, so I hope you have enjoyed fall as much as I and that you can find joy and beauty in the coming winter. Below, I have shared visual moments in time from this fall. Take a moment and scroll through and share a peaceful season past with me.

Be still and know that He is God...