(Each Saturday, a faith leader in Franklin County offers a personal perspective in this space. To become part of this series, email religion@recorder.com or call 413-772-0261, ext. 265.)
Summer days are getting shorter. The time for harvest will soon be upon us, along with the new school year, and a multitude of holidays. Seems like, this year, summer relaxation was usurped by the craziness of politics and the constant battle to keep peace and hope alive.
However, as I sat mid-afternoon, with the sun pouring warmth onto my desktop, I began to ponder. The green smell of the garden, resplendent in the full bloom, wafted through the window. I was grateful for the consistency of this moment. Nevertheless …
change is coming.
Walking down our lovely tree-lined street, I saw it … the first turned leaf! Everything in me screamed, “NO!” I am not ready for fall, not ready for the cold to begin to seep into my days, not ready for the thoughts of blizzards, ice storms or holidays.
Heraclitus said, “The only constant in life is change.” So, no matter how unwilling I am, how unprepared, how unhappy, the season will change in its own time.
Life happens in its own time, too. We may try to schedule things. We turn clocks back and forth. We may assign days to various happenings. The reality is, however, that what will come to pass will happen, despite all our protests, manipulations or demands.
In Ecclesiastes 3:1 (ISV) we are told, “There is a season for everything, and a time for every event under heaven.” Change has to happen. If a child doesn’t grow, it means something is terribly wrong. If the weather stays constant, plants would fail to grow. If seeds stay seeds, there would be no flowers, no food. Change will happen. Change is a blessing.
Writer and poet Kamand Kojouri wrote, “Autumn is my favorite season of all. It is a transitory period that allows the earth to rest before it sees the harshness of winter and hears the promise of spring.”
Consequently, all we can do is “roll with the flow.” We can work at preparing for the storms of life, be they hurricanes, blizzards or tragedies. We can be flexible and adapt. But, no matter what, we can’t stop change from happening. (We might postpone something for a bit, but inevitably change will occur!)
I picked up the leaf, looking at the beauty of its shape and color. I gave thanks for the glory of nature in all seasons. Then, I began to ponder the things I would need to do to let go of summer and move into autumn.
Creator of all I see, hear my thanks. Know that for each blossom I behold, for each tree I hug, for each blade of grass that gently cups my foot, I give thanks.
As the days diminish into autumnal splendor, give me the grace to see the beauty in a garden gone by. Bless me with the faith to know that the magic of nature is not always seen but is always there.
Help me find within myself the flexibility to adapt. Help me learn to bend in order not to snap and break from the winds of change. Help me discover beauty, truth and, most especially, love, no matter what life brings my way.
Thank you, blessed Gardener, for the turn of the seasons and all they bring to all of us.
They are reminder that change is constant like your love for us.
Blessings to all!
Rev. Linda M. Rhinehart Neas graduated from the New Seminary in New York City as an ordained interfaith minister. Presently, she is taking an online course through Harvard Divinity School on Peace and Conflict. She holds membership in World Awake, an Interfaith organization, Interfaith Ministers of New England, and the Interfaith Council of Franklin County. Rev. Neas is currently filling the pulpit for the month of August at First Congregational Church in Shelburne. She can be reached at https://www.facebook.com/revlindaneas