The Autumn of Life

It has been a beautiful week here in zone 7. Our temperatures have been in the upper 70’s and the wind is a mild 10 mph. My faithful dog, Millie, and I are taking daily walks throughout the neighborhood. We have many older homes with front porches here and I love to see how folks have decorated for this fall season. Our climate here in NE Oklahoma does not allow the spectacular leaf color the that the north and eastern states of the US experience this time of year.

Ample rainfall during the growing season plays a crucial part in fall foliage color. Cool night temperatures combined with mild, sunny days provide the best chance of bright fall foliage. A lack of wind and rain during the autumn season will also help prolong the color display.

My husband and I just returned from a vacation visiting relatives in Iowa and Ohio. We drove the entire trip. Even though the fall colors were not yet at their peak it was still beautiful. I love to drive through the country side, especially, during the harvest. Farmers were busy in their corn fields. We saw huge combines unloading the bright yellow corn into trucks and the smell of fall was in the air. Mile after mile where large older farm houses. With each one we passed I wondered who lived there. Everyone has a story, every story is a life, every life has a God ordained purpose. I wondered, were those people living their dream? Were they happy, healthy, were they at peace?

I also traveled down a road that was very familiar to me. It was the old gravel road where our family farm was. Five years ago my mother sold the farm my siblings & I grew up on. I must admit that seeing it again brought tears to my eyes. The barn was in desperate need of paint, yet, it stood straight and tall. A couple of buildings that were old and decaying have been torn down. The corn field has been extended over the place the family orchard, garden, and hay pasture used to be. The potentilla and juniper bushes that were planted around the front foundation are gone. Sound sad? In a way it was. But there was also signs of new life. The old, overgrown and dying windbreak was replaced with brand new seedlings. In front of them there was a brilliant green, manicured grass. I suspect the old house will someday be replaced with a new one. Honestly, my sadness was not about what the farm has become, rather, the fact that the two people that made that place a home where not longer with us. My dad passed away fourteen years ago. He was a hardworking, blue collar man that loved life and cherished his family above anything else. My mother passed on a few months ago. She was a strong, quiet, petite lady who spent her life taking care of her husband and six children.

Lately I have been thinking about my own life. I wonder..how will I be remembered? Have I made a positive impact on my children’s life? Am I an encourager to my daughter in laws? Am I a nurturing, godly influence to my grandson? Then there’s the big question; when I come to the end of my life and I look into the eyes of Jesus what will He say? The stage of life that I am in is what our society refers to as “middle aged.” I prefer the term, “the autumn of life.” I researched that term in a thesaurus and the results were very interesting. The synonyms for this term range from “infirmity, feebleness, or senility” to “longevity and second childhood.” I choose longevity and second childhood. You see, I have discovered the truth that every decision we make in our life has a destination. Every path leads to an end. What path are you choosing today? It is true that we do not know what tomorrow brings. But, there is someone who does.

“You are my hiding place! You protect me from trouble, and you put songs in my heart because you have saved me. You said to me, “I will point out the road that you should follow. I will be your teacher and watch over you.” Psalm 32:7-8

There is an interesting fact about the wonderful colors of autumn. The yellow and orange pigments are actually present throughout the growing season. They are simply masked by the green color produced by chlorophyll. In the fall chlorophyll production slows and stops as the connection between the leaves and the rest of the plant is blocked. It is then that these two colors become visible. Red and purple pigments are not present during the growing season. As the fall season begins, these pigments are produced by the sugars that are trapped in the leaf.

Spiritually speaking, the same can be said of you and I, my friends. Some of us have gifts, talents, and callings that have been present from the time we were conceived. The chlorophyll of life has simply masked it. Others have fulfilled one call or ministry season and now there is a “sugar” that needs to produce a new work. Let’s not buy into the lie that the enemy feeds us that it is too late. Someone out there needs each and everyone of us. Our autumn color does not need to fade prematurely. Our loving, heavenly Father is willing and waiting to keep the autumn of our life in the peak of perfection. We have all made mistakes. The key is to learn from them. Be daring enough to share your life lessons with others so that they can be spared from the same mistakes you have made. If you have reached the end of one path begin again on another.
Let’s pray together this prayer from Psalm 119: 30-32 in The Message translation:

“Barricade the road that goes Nowhere; grace me with your clear revelation.
I choose the true road to Somewhere, I post your road signs at every curve and corner.
I grasp and cling to whatever you tell me; God, don’t let me down!
I’ll run the course you lay out for me if you’ll just show me how.”