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There’s a tree that sits on the edge of my neighbor’s yard. I watch it all year round as it is stunningly beautiful in every season.

This fall it has been slowly speaking to my heart, as slowly as its leaves have turned their color. The turning was subtle, a few leaves at a time. A few more each day until I realized, yes indeed, they were making the transition and getting ready for the drop.

They turned yellow from the outer edges with those closest to the trunk still holding their green. They rustle ever so sweetly when the wind blows. In the late afternoon sunlight, they glisten and brilliantly reflect the light shining on them.

As the days have passed, this little tree has brought three messages:

  • Change, aka transformation, happens over time. For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. (Philippians 1:6, NASB). God works in us over the course of our entire lives. We change over the course of time, a little at a time, as we submit to His hand molding us.
  • We go from glory to glory.  “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit” (2 Corinthians 3:18, NASB). The process of change makes us more and more like Christ. As He works in our lives, we become more like Him.
  • We can reflect the light even on the darkest of days. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 5:16, NASB). The little leaves glisten in the sunlight and yet, even in the recent dark and rainy days, they have reflected the small amount of daylight in a most spectacular manner.

Soon the little tree will drop all of its leaves and remain bare until the next season of new growth. But that will occur in the right, and appointed, time.

Just like us – we let go of things as the Lord works in our lives. When the time comes, we know when the time has come to let go, move on, and move forward.

For everything there is a season,
a time for every activity under heaven.”

(Ecclesiastes 3:1, NLT)



We are all prone to fail, fall, and disappoint others. How are we to handle it when a a leader or someone we admire falls? In her article, 5 Things to Remember When Fellow Christians Fall, Ashley Rowland brings her wisdom for our consideration.

 

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Photo by Chris Lawton on Unsplash
Today I may be joining … Recharge Wednesday .