As I was walking Miss Maisy last week, I was overwhelmed by the beauty of the turning trees along our route.  I was in a section where the golden leaves were falling all around me as we walked down the sidewalk.  A feeling of peace and of gratitude, and even awe overcame me as I acknowledged the beauty of God’s creation.

And as he so often does on these walks, God brought to mind some truths about himself that he wanted me to know, and to share with you.

Not to burst this “fall leaves” love fest, but I think we’re all aware of the fact that leaves turn color this time of year because, as the days get shorter, the trees have less chlorophyll to keep the leaves green.  In short, an element of the tree is dying in preparation for the winter.  Hence the changing of the colors, and the eventual dropping of the leaves.

As I looked at the beauty around me, and witnessed the dropping of a blanket of leaves as I walked under these trees, I felt God showing me that he can bring beauty even in the process of dying.  As is so often the case, God has woven truths about himself and his world in to the nature he created.

I thought about my own journey through the losses in my life.  Many are decades in the rearview mirror and others are still painfully fresh.  Have I seen beauty in those circumstances?  While there has been much spiritual growth through those heartaches, my first reaction was to say, “No, I didn’t see these times as ‘beautiful.’”  But should I?

That was the question to ponder that morning.  As I prayed about this, and reflected on what God has taught me through my difficult seasons, especially these past six years, I did finally reach the conclusion that much of what God taught me was, indeed, beautiful.

Here are the nuggets of beauty I saw both in retrospect, and in the moment:

• A lifetime of beautiful memories of the years spent with my loved ones who have gone on before me.
• A new appreciation for the beauty of God’s promises in the Bible that I’ve desperately and faithfully clung to … and run to.
• A daily walk with God that has become more personal than I’ve ever experienced before, and that I could only describe as, you guessed it, beautiful.
• A personalized ministry God called me to that has opened up opportunities for mutual support, edification, validation, and friendship with others who are grieving, and those who walk beside them.  Beautiful stories of God’s faithfulness abound.
• A hope for an eternity in a world of beauty I can’t begin to imagine from this side of Glory.

Let’s camp out on that last bullet point for a bit longer. 

I often say that autumn is my favorite time of year for exactly the reasons we talked about earlier.  The magnificence of the color palette God paints this time of year is unparalleled.  It takes my breath away.

But after the harsh winter begins to wind down, and signs of new life appear, I often relent and say that spring is also my favorite time of year!

The tender buds that appear on those once-dead trees, and the brave tulip bulbs peeking up out of the once-frozen ground are reminders of the new life Jesus promised to us when he took our place on the cross, and bore the punishment for our sin.

It was the most incredible act of mercy and sacrifice the world has ever seen – an act of beautiful redemption.

He has made everything beautiful in its time.

Ecclesiastes 3:11