Once again it’s that time of year and, just as it always does, Autumn has officially arrived. It feels like it almost crept up on us this time, as though yesterday we were dozing off in the afternoon sun or desperately trying to eat that ice cream before it fell to the floor with a devastating splat. And then, suddenly… fights break out over who is hogging the duvet! Blankets are pulled out of storage. Radiators bubble and creak their way out of hibernation.
After the heat and the haze of Summer, Autumn always seems to bring with it a feeling of reflection, time to take a breath before the onset of Winter and all the festivities that brings. After all, it is the harvest season, a season of preparation, of endings and beginnings.
It seems that in this new normal that we’re all experiencing, the change of the season has come around with more of a shock to the system than usual. Maybe it’s something to do with the latest changes across our nation, maybe it’s the sudden need to turn our headlights on during a drive home at the end of the day or maybe it’s the simple fact that iced lattes just are not hitting the right spot anymore! As Pastor Tim said a couple of weeks ago, we are creatures of habit, we’re not big fans of change and it can be a testing time whenever that change may happen. In a strange way, the constant adjustments and tweaking that we’ve had to deal with this year may help us with the next shift but that change, like any transitions we face, may still be a jarring and unsettling one.
In moments like that, moments that seem unstable and uprooted, it sometimes feels like we’re adrift and maybe a little lost, unsure of what our own personal season may be and what lies in store for us. I can certainly sympathise with anyone feeling a little nomadic right now!
Some of us might be going through our own personal, unsteady autumns or bleak winters at the moment, going through that period of difficulty. But, while there may be pain through the night, joy comes in the morning. Every season has a purpose, even if it doesn’t often feel that way and with that in mind, Spring can only happen once Winter has had it’s moment; we don’t see the shoot until the Spring but that little shoot has persevered through the winter, having prepared itself in the Autumn.
We have been reminded that God is the constant. There is never a wrong time, a wrong season, to put our faith and our trust in God. He is the root, the foundation, the Cornerstone; in this season of change, in a world that can feel uncertain, when your bearings might be a little off and you might be feeling lost in the fog, put your trust in God.
Written by Rob Ryan (Young Adults)