Raking autumn leaves is one of my favorite outdoor chores. It also tells me something about life.
I was raking up quite a collection – crispy, furled maple, golden lilac, bright red burning bush – when I saw a metaphor.
The true glory of a tree is not always evident. For most of the year, its leaves are green. Only in the autumn does the chlorophyll in a leaf recede, revealing the actual color that was there all along. So autumn is the brief season during which we get to enjoy the revealed beauty of the trees around us.
The apostle Paul writes in 2 Corinthians, “ And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another.”
As I raked and bagged this last season’s “glory” from my yard, it struck me that God is doing the same thing in my character.
As significant as they were, He is raking and bagging last season’s triumphs and spiritual successes. Their time is done and they must make way for something new.
Just like I can’t really preserve and continue to enjoy last year’s leaves, I can’t sit on my laurels spiritually. There will be more mountains to climb, new vistas to view, deeper levels of intimacy with God, fresh challenges to face.
He who began a good work in me will complete it one day, and that day has not arrived yet.
What God accomplished in me by His grace in the past is beautiful, and I am grateful for it. I am also glad to let Him gather it and put it aside in preparation for what He wants to do next.
What leaves are you saying goodbye to this season?