This is the day which the Lord has made, a perfectly beautiful Wednesday. The Lord and Father Sky have created a picture perfect definition of a day of Fall — dark blue sky filled with luminous fluffy white clouds, a cool breeze pinging the wind chimes, rustling the leaves and fluffing the bird’s feathers. I’m sitting in the swing watching a battalion of brown oak leaves march up the road, head over heals in the breeze, their feet slapping the concrete, heading toward the sunshine further down the street. In my mind I’m hearing jazz trumpeter Louis Armstrong singing, “I see skies of blue and clouds of white. The bright blessed day, the dark sacred night. And I think to myself, what a wonderful world.” I feel the same way. Mother Earth is wonderfully dressed in her Wednesday best.

The songbirds are nervous and quiet. Two hawks just swooped down looking for their breakfast but all the songbirds retreated quickly and flew away, hiding safely in an oak tree by the driveway. After the hawks visit the yard, the doves are always the first to return to the feeders, their squeaking wings announcing their arrival. Once the cardinals start flitting back around the feeders the other songbirds will feel safe enough to come back to my yard.

Been chasing three butterflies around the zinnias this morning. Finally gave up taking a photo of them. The black swallowtail never relaxed his wings even when resting on the blooms. Guess he was having a nervous rigger ‘cause I was following him around. Not sure what the other two butterflies were, maybe a summer azure and a cloudless sulfur. They flew away because I stalked them, too. Couldn’t help it. They were painted in such luxurious colors. A person who studies butterflies is called a lepidopterist. Sounds like a harsh word for something so glorious.

I think Autumn is my favorite time of the year and then I think of Winter and the possibility of an occasional snow flurry and change my favorite season to Winter. Then I think of daffodils in the Spring and fresh vegetables and swimming in the Summer so guess I love all four of the seasons best.

“I hope I can be the Autumn leaf, whom looked at the sky and lived. And when it was time to leave, gracefully it knew life was a gift,” Dodinsky. I love this quote. No two leaves on a tree are alike just like everyone of us is different. Leaves bloom and grow on the tree branches and then when the season changes to Fall the leaves become brittle, dry up and let go of their branches, slowly floating to the ground, each one dressed differently in their colorful fall cardigans, piling up in their beauty around the tree trunks and yards.

We’re all born to grow and bloom on our family tree. We mature and leave the family, striking out in the world dressed in our adult clothing. Like the Fall leaves painted in their Autumn colors, beginning their dances to the ground, we are beginning our journeys, exploring all life has to offer. We know life is a gift. We set out to live it and to experience it.

Ecclesiastes 3:1 reads, “For everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven.” The seasons of our lives come and go. The tree stands tall soaking up the Winter sun knowing Spring is coming. We stand strong in our faith knowing that the sun will warm us with it goodness. God will bring us peace and comfort. We know there are rainbows after the storms. If we’re ripped from our tree we know God will catch us when we fall.

The Spring of our lives is full of new beginnings. We’re hopeful and joyful. The trees are budding and blooming adding beauty to our lives. The landscape is shedding the gloom of Winter and we feel the coming warmth of Summer. We see all the possibilities of life in front of us. We know God is by our side guiding our journey and helping us make the right decision when the road forks. Proverbs 16:9 notes, “The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps.”

Summer brings beauty to the landscape and to our lives. Like the plants sprouting in our gardens we feel God’s presence in the beauty of the greening trees and their fruitfulness. The trees are full of leaves and shade us from the sun. Our lives are on the cusp of retirement and old age. Proverbs 3:13 states, “Joyful is the person who finds wisdom, the one who gains understanding.” We bask in the wisdom and grace of the passing years of our lives.

The Fall in our season of life comes with the beauty of nature changing the landscape with the coloring of the leaves. Fall reminds us of the good things in our lives and the things we’ve accomplished. We accept that we have time to reflect on our lives, time to change the color of the landscape in our life, time to deepen our relationship with God as we prepare for the coming Winter.

Winter is a time of reflection. “When I think on my ways, I turn my feet to your testimonies; I hasten and do not delay to keep your commandments.” In Winter the dark landscape gets painted with the colors of the sunrise and sunset each day. We paint the canvas of our life with a myriad of memories. We’ve lived our lives and like the leaves are prepared to let go, to look toward the sky and the reunion with our loved ones. We are thankful for the gifts of life.

The seasons of our lives rest ultimately in God’s hands. Psalm 31:15 states, “But I trust in you, O Lord; I say, ‘You are my God.’ My times are in your hand.”

“Close each day with a smile and paint the sky with your dreams,” — Dodinsky