Eric Reece
I do not remember a fall season that I have experienced that is so beautiful. Maybe I was more aware this year of the beauty of the fall colors.
Having lived most of my life in the mountains, it used to be a nuisance to fight the heavy traffic that comes with the beautiful fall colors. I now appreciate people coming to see what I took for granted for so many years.
I heard the lack of rain could affect the colors this year, but I did not notice. From our friends at the forest service, I read shorter days and longer nights signal to the trees that winter is coming and it is time to get ready for cold weather.
The variety of colors on the leaves this year were like an artist palette, where the paint was mixed to get the right shades.
I thought I saw many beautiful shades of yellow on the trees this year. Different trees show off a variety of colors. Oak trees have reds and browns. Hickory leaves turn a golden bronze. Maple leaves are a favorite, with reds, oranges and yellows.
When Noah and his family exited the ark, one of the first things he did was build an altar and make an offering to God. God responded by making a covenant with Noah, which included God’s promise, “As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night shall not cease” (Genesis 8:22).
A favorite hymn author, Thomas Chishom, put God’s promise to verse when he wrote, “Great is Thy faithfulness.” The second stanza goes, “Summer and winter, and springtime and harvest; sun, moon, and stars in their courses above join with all nature in manifold witness to Thy great faithfulness, mercy, and love.”
When the people of God were returning home from exile, the Prophet Isaiah was so filled with hope and joy he said, “For you shall go out in joy and be led back in peace; the mountains and the hills before you shall burst into song, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands” (Isaiah 55:12).
Fall is a time for the trees to show all the beauty of creation and clap their hands in praise of God.
As I watched leaves dropping from a tree like snow falling to the ground, I remembered the book, “The Fall of Freddie the Leaf” by Dr. Leo Buscaglia. It was one of those children’s books enjoyed by many adults.
When fall came and the wind blew Freddy off the tree, the story concluded, “Freddie landed on the soft snow. He closed his eyes and went to sleep. He did not know this. But, in the tree and the ground, there were already plans for new leaves in spring.”
While I enjoy the many colors of fall, I look forward to spring, when the green leaves will return and the trees will clap their hands in praise.
Eric Reece is the faith columnist for The Graham Star. He is pastor of Robbinsville United Methodist Church and can be reached via email, ereece@wnccumc.net.