Seasons

I love the changing seasons! Especially after living several years in Florida where one season looks pretty much the same as another..... the joke there was that we had two seasons, hot and hotter!! Growing up in South Carolina and living there through my young adult years, I always thought of spring as my favorite season.....I loved the beauty of it, the flowers blooming, new growth on the trees! The pollen, not so much :)

However, after living in other parts of the country where spring is not so predictable (warm today, snow tomorrow!!) and where it comes much later than it does in the South, I have become a big fan of fall! I love the changing colors, the crispness of the air, the warm days and cool nights. And yes, I admit it, I love football!! Right now I'm really loving watching the hickory trees around our house as they are already beginning to display their fall colors. Every morning I look to see how much change there has been. The acorns are falling, the squirrels and chipmunks are very active. There is a lot going on here on the mountain!

I'm looking forward to the time when all the leaves fall off the trees. My family all think I'm nuts, but ever since I was a child I have loved the sound, the "crunch" of walking through fallen leaves! It's one of my favorite things!

I think I also enjoy fall because it's a time to return to a routine. Even though my children are grown and I'm in the "empty nest" season of life, somehow the back-to-school season is a back-to-routine time for me as well. And being a lover of "routine" and a real creature of habit, I'm happy to be back on a schedule, even though it is a self-imposed one. A schedule that sets aside long periods of time for Bible Study and prayer, for reflection on all God is doing and all He has promised to do. I almost look forward to the cold, snowy days of winter when I "hibernate" and have even more time for those pursuits without any distractions. But beyond looking forward, I'm looking to each day, enjoying what it brings, celebrating the beauty of God's creation and most of all celebrating the Creator God who in His infinite wisdom has given us seasons!