The beauty of change
We headed out in our motorhome to the Smokie Mountains in search of fall. Tom found us a wonderful RV park and our site was right on the banks of the French Broad River. Every morning while it was still dark, I would climb in the front passenger seat of the motorhome, stare out the front window and wait to see what the dawning of each day would bring. Some mornings the mist along the river was a dense fog. Other mornings, the mist was light and would move and swirl almost as though it was dancing with the river. Then there was one morning when there was no mist at all and the river was still and quiet. Y’all…God’s Word which says “…for since the creation of the world God’s invisible attributes, His eternal power, and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made…” is absolutely true!
I took this first picture during one of those misty mornings. There I was taking in all the majesty of God when that reddish-orange leaf caught my attention. You see, while we went to the Smokie Mountains in search of fall, the trees weren’t quite ready for us! But there was that one brightly colored leaf among a mass of misty green and it captivated me. So, I started having a conversation with myself and God!
It started out with “God you are amazing!” I mean, who but You, God, can cause leaves to change, right? Can I make the leaves change color? Uh, no. I am so sure that if I could or any man could control when and how the leaves change color it would have been done by now because the fall season is a money maker. I visualized the bumper to bumper traffic we ran into and the long lines at restaurants. All of us there in search of the glorious colors of fall. So yeah, I’m pretty sure if man could produce the changing colors of fall, it would have already happened. Yep, I agreed with God..."You are in control of when and how the leaves change color because He designed and created the whole process.”
Sure, I know there is science behind the leaves changing color. And who designed and created that science or process? God! Some would say fall is at the mercy of mother nature, right? It is what it is and we take what we get, giving credit to some mother of nature who does as she pleases. Why is it so easy to believe in a mother nature that doesn’t exist then in a God who does and is sovereign over all things. Oh, the wonderings of a misty morning!
As I sat there pondering all these things in my heart, I realized I was kind of like that changing leaf. And not just me, but if you too love Jesus, then you are kind of like this leaf too. The proof of a surrendered life to Christ is a changed life! You see, because of Jesus, I want to dig into God’s Word, get to know Him, reason with Him and learn His ways, His will and how He thinks…about everything. I want to be like Jesus in my thinking and behavior. I want to reflect the character of God…to be His reddish-orange leaf in a sea of misty green. These desires and this thinking is in and of itself is a huge, supernatural change in me!
If we have surrendered our lives to Jesus and because we love Him, we want to be like Him. Being like Jesus makes us different in our thinking and behaviors from the world. A stark difference. Just like that leaf right there.
Later on that same day, I captured the below photo showing a patch of changing trees. I thought to myself how much easier it is to be different for Christ when you have a lot of other folks changing with you and at the same time. Amen? But, dear Lord, if necessary, give me the desire and courage to let you do your transforming work in my life even if it means going first.
