Ah, the first day of Autumn. In Central and South Texas, we don’t enjoy the brilliant and changing fall foliage that some readers enjoy in other regions. Instead, we add the color of autumn through our container gardens. Since the days of 100° F plus are over, we can keep the seasonal Fall plants alive.
I tried hard this past summer not to complain about the heat. Although by mid-August I heard myself grumbling way too much. I’m sure our Dear Lord was growing weary of hearing me say, “It’s too hot. I’m tired of the heat.”
When I would listen to myself, I would turn my thoughts to the patients on the 7th floor at Seton Hospital (oncology ward). No doubt most of the patients and their loved one would have loved to feel the hot Texas sun and not face the arduous cancer treatments they were experiencing. You see, 39 months ago I was on that floor caring for my beloved mother.
To help me refocus my thoughts, I began to meditate on these words of scripture:
There is an appointed time for everything,
and a time for every affair under the heavens.
A time to give birth, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to uproot the plan. (Eccl 3: 1,3)
Our lives is a series of everything’s. Each season in our lives brings times for laughing, dancing, fearing and crying. But, we must never lose sight of our destination – our heavenly home with God. And, we certainly must remember that He is with us in times of joy and sorrow. He’s ready to breathe a gentle breeze against our warm skin or wipe tears from our cheeks. Yes, He is there when Summer leaves and Autumn arrives during the seasons of His creation as well as during the times of our lives.
Let’s launch the autumnal season with this prayer composed by Father Doug Leonhardt, S.J.
