Leaving the Loss

Autumn is by far my favorite time of year.  I love everything about it.  The cooler temperatures, the spectacular colors that blanket the ridges around my home.  Football games, mums, and fall festivals.  I love the crispness in the air when I hike or walk; it invigorates me in a way no other season does.  I even love wrapping up in a blanket in the mornings just so I can do my devotionals on the deck.  

It was while I sat on the deck a few days ago that I realized that fall is also very symbolic.  It is a reminder that nothing stays the same.  That change is the only constant and that in the process of shedding one season for the next, there will always be loss.  I always feel a bit of sadness when the vibrant orange, yellow, and red leaves are caught up in the wind and make the journey from limb to ground.  Because I know that the shedding of these leaves will leave the trees barren and exposed; not nearly as pretty to look at and a reminder that winter is around the corner.

Yet I also know that in the loss there is a purpose.  Deciduous trees lose their leaves so that the tree spends less energy to survive the winter.  It conserves moisture within the trunk, so it doesn’t dry out.  Without the leaves, winds that often accompany fall and winter can blow freely through the branches, putting less strain on the tree.  The annual shedding of the leaves is necessary for the survival and growth of the tree.

We aren’t that different.  Throughout our life, we have adorned ourselves with leaves of various types and purposes.  As a new Christian, I hid behind my leaves of uncertainty and immaturity.  Just wanting to blend in because I didn’t have the confidence to stand out for God.  But on this journey with Jesus, behaviors that served me well in one season of my life, needed to fall away so that I could grow into a new season.  And that progression required loss.  Loss of long-held beliefs.  Loss of activities I once thought appropriate.  Loss of friends who lost interest in the Rhonda who loves God first.  Loss of the person I once was to become born again in Jesus.

The apostle Paul writes to the Philippians sharing that all he once found valuable when He was a Pharisee, is “loss” or garbage, worthless in light of knowing Jesus Christ. “Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.”

Fall reminds me that in my pursuit of Jesus, I must always be ready to set aside worldly desires or preferences.  I need to be willing to shed those things that threaten to drain my energy and shift my focus from Jesus.  

I need to let go.  Let go of what holds me back.  Let go of what weighs me down.  Let go of what isn’t needed so that God can provide what is required.  To let go of the adornments that no longer serve me in this season of my life.  To strengthen my roots in the foundation of God’s promises.  To rest and be ready for the spring that God has planned for me.  

I want to be ready to be beautiful in every season.  To be clothed in the vibrant hues of autumn.  To be washed in the whiteness of snow in the winter.  To sprout with hope and opportunity in the spring.  And to be full and vibrant in the summer.  In every season, I want to be clothed in the majesty of a God who created me to be clothed in His grace.

So, I’m going to settle in and enjoy the explosion of color around me.  I’m going to let it nestle into my soul.  I’m going to embrace the crunch under my feet and remember that loss is not inherently bad.  In loss we grow if we trust in Jesus.  In loss we are equipped to reach others.  In loss we free ourselves for the unimaginable gains we can only find in Jesus Christ.