I have always envisioned life as a movement through seasons, which makes the seasons of Spring and Summer easy, because everything is bright and beautiful, and you can see the change and growth. Fall and Winter however, have always been my two least favorite seasons. I think it’s because when I envision those seasons, I always recall bareness and death. Leaves turn to a beautiful color, just to fall a couple of days later, leaving trees bare. Animals seek a place to hibernate or stay warm avoiding the harsh winter that returns each year. Temperatures drop to 20 degrees, and every remaining form of life shrivels.
However, this year the fall season has felt different to me. As I sat in the bareness of this fall, I am reminded of God’s promise of new life. I am reminded that no matter the harshness of winter, Spring will come. In all my years of life a beautiful spring has followed a cold, dark, bare season.
Knowing this has given me peace. It has given me peace in the bareness that is bound to happen, because I have finally realized that nothing ever truly dies, but rather makes room for a more beautiful life.
We are reminded in Isaiah 11 that “Out of the stump of David’s family will grow a shoot- yes, a new Branch bearing fruit from the old root.” In this season of what may feel like a dark, cold, bare season, know that God is with you in the bare. Learn to find peace in bareness, and remember that you are creating room for beautiful growth.
God of peace,
Thank you for your consistent presence through all seasons of life.
Teach us to be peacemakers.
Let us have the ability to create peace in a world filled with so much chaos.
Let us find peace in the goods in life and help us to find you in the bareness of life.
This reflection was written by Paxton Clegg.