Though it is hot and still very much summer, there are signs that the next season is on its way. I wasn’t really paying attention then realized I needed to start my evening walks at least 30 minutes earlier because it gets dark sooner. I’ve noticed there are a few leaves on one limb of one tree that have already turned from green to gold. And of course, a sure sign of a change of season is seeing school buses in the mornings and afternoons again. I find these hints of the approaching season to be welcoming and encouraging.
For me, the beginning of a new season provides a certain spiritual space to reflect and discern what might come next. What will this season bring? How or where can I experience something new this time? Where is the Lord leading me? We are used to special and specific seasons such as Advent and Lent and have a good idea where to put our prayerful focus at those times, but a new season like this is more subtle. It’s a quiet invitation. An invitation to ask the Lord to help us renew, refocus, and recommit; to ask the Lord to help us identify what in our hearts needs healing or strengthening; to ask the Lord to help us let go of what keeps us from Him.
As I pray for the grace of transformation and new growth, I also pray that I do not dwell on what I have not done or what I cannot change. I am hopeful in this new opportunity—this new season—and await to see what the Lord will reveal. As a reminder to open my heart more fully, allow the Lord to work in me, and trust in His plan for me, I consider one of my favorite verses:
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, on your own intelligence rely not; in all your ways be mindful of him, and he will make straight your paths. (Prov 3:5-6)
As we soon welcome a new season of renewal and growth, let us take this opportunity (like the changing leaves on the tree) to remain deeply rooted in faith, be transformed by what the Lord reveals, and be held gently by the branches of those who support us in love and faith.
Journeying to Grace 