The smell is unique – gentle decay of a natural, wholesome sort rather than morbid.  The skies are an honest blue, deep and clear.  The crunch of acorns and leaves underfoot betrays all but the most careful movement.  It involves a slow disrobing of a revelatory sort rather than sensual.  It is a time of beautiful death, or perhaps an entry into a dormancy born of hope.  There is something about the season that draws the joy out of my soul like no other season.  Autumn is a special part of the year for me.

I know it is a phenomenon unique to temperate, cooler climates.  Oftentimes, it seems to almost be an afterthought of the transition from summer to winter, with temperatures making dramatic drops from hazy highs to transparent frigidity.  But in years like this one, when there is the dramatic pause that we call fall, I am filled with its surprising intensity.  Leaf colors dazzle as they cling for their last few days to branches that will soon be splashed with sunlight, rain, and snow, uncovered and open to the elements.  The sharp scent of fired wood and leaves wafts aloft as they are consumed by eager, warming flame.  What was once a rustle of wind through leaves has now become the rattle of empty limbs.  This season also returns a certain delight to those who love the mixture of flavors we call pumpkin spice.  Even the long, raw, rainy days have their special sensory blessings as we haul out our snuggly wool and heavy cotton, hunkering down of an evening with a warm beverage and a good book.

Scripture tells us that everything has its season, and while that most often refers to a general period of time and not a specific time of year, I believe each of our meteorological quarters has its share of blessings to be enjoyed.  Fall is full of them!

Many folks nowadays attempt to make this part of the year a time of thankfulness, keeping gratitude journals and sharing their daily appreciation of blessings both large and small.  It takes time, and sometimes it is a challenge, but it is definitely worth it.  As many have observed, our current cultural season seems to have brought with it an amnesia to the things we count dear and the things which bring us delight.  It is time to revive our dormant appreciation to fight the world of complaint and dissatisfaction that surrounds us, and look for what our loving heavenly Father has done for us today and every day.

So, now is our chance to take a walk outside, no matter what the weather, summoning every one of our senses to find the good things around us, and be glad, for there is much to be glad about.

Happy Fall!