As the shadows lengthen and cooler winds begin to blow, we enter a time of year that is, for some, the best of seasons and, for others, the worst of seasons. There are some who long for cool fall breezes and pumpkin spice flavored things from the moment summer begins; for others, this time marks the end of their favorite season, the end of all of their favorite outdoor activities, and even the beginning of seasonal depression.
There are families and children excited for the return of school – kids who have been lonely and feeling unmoored all summer looking forward to the return of more structured days and more time with their peers, and parents looking forward to state-provided childcare for a big chunk of the day. And then there are families and children dreading the start of school; children who struggle with academics and with identifying with their peers; children with separation anxiety; and parents who worry about their children’s struggle in the classroom and who miss them throughout the day.
I do love the fall season, with all of the colorful leaves, the cool breezes, and some of my favorite holidays. But right around this time I also begin to feel a bit depressed. Summer is my favorite season. I love the sunshine, the vivacious green colors everywhere you look, thunderstorms, even the tremendous heat. At the end of every summer I take inventory of everything I had hoped to do in the summer months, now regretting that I did not take the opportunity to do them. It sucks much of the joy out of autumn for me.
And yet, the seasons turn, with little regard for our personal preferences about weather and recreation and scenery. We are indeed at the mercy of God’s creation. And, while it doesn’t always feel this way, this is indeed good news.
It’s humbling whenever we are reminded that the earth is greater than we are, that we are subject to nature and nature not subject to us. Whether that be adjusting our lives to the routine changes of the seasons, or when we’re confronted with the terrifying force of storms and other natural phenomena. This is God’s intended order – we are a part of nature, participants in creation, not lords over it. And when we imagine ourselves lords over nature, all manner of damage may be done to the natural order. With this summer being unusually rainy and hot, with wildfires in Canada and California, we are reminded of the reality of climate change. Earlier, bigger hurricanes raging just off the coast of our country remind us that our activity within nature has consequences that ripple throughout nature. If we damage the natural world, we damage ourselves. We are intricately linked.
And yet, every change of the seasons is a new opportunity – an invitation, even – to renew our sense of owe and wonder for the world God has made. We are called to be stewards of creation, not lords over it. The earth and all that is in it belongs to God, and God has entrusted it to us to cultivate and care for. May our hearts and minds change with the seasons, that we be ever attentive to the voice of God speaking through his creation. May we learn to love the creation as God does, and care for it as though we were charged by God himself, as we certainly have been. May we be ever mindful of those who struggle through seasonal transition, that we may be good neighbors to all. May we strive for justice, peace, and freedom in all the earth, that all living things may flourish.
Thanks be to God.
Pastor Adam