As long as the earth remains, there will be planting and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night.
Genesis 8:22 (NLT)
Here in Minnesota, the sticky-hot, long days of summer stretch deep into September, then finally in October the nighttime and early morning air gives way to a chill.
And that’s when the trees know winter is coming. They prepare for it from the inside out.
This knowledge that the trees have feels important, kind of enormous. The trees flourish and reveal their truest selves as their leaves are dying. God has built truth and theology into trees, and I want to sit at their roots and learn.
How do the leaves know when to drop their guard of green and give into the process of dying to themselves? Why do they trust the timing each and every year? Do they lean into it, or do they fight back, stubborn in giving into the inevitable blaze of color?
My eight-year-old loves playing the “Did you know?” game. He loves taking in random trivia and facts, then busting them out in any silence he encounters. It gives me joy when I can mix it up and slip a “Did you know?” of my own in for him. Friends, did you know that most leaves are not inherently green? The green is the cover up. Their green color comes from the presence of a chemical called chlorophyll that thrives in warmer climates and weather. We think of leaves most often as green, yet deep inside the leaf are other chemicals — each with a different color. When the shortened sunlight of autumn returns, the chlorophyll backs off and lets the other chemicals (colors) shine.
Isn’t that incredible? This article sums it up: “Along with the green pigment are yellow to orange pigments, carotenes and xanthophyll pigments which, for example, give the orange color to a carrot. Most of the year these colors are masked by great amounts of green coloring.”
What we think of as a death — the leaves giving in to the coming cold and dying — is actually them revealing their truest selves.
The weather reflects a gradual change. It’s cool; the breezes are still; but deep down at their roots, the trees know major change is coming. They know they are to be robing themselves in color, preparing for a brand-new season of beauty — while some remain green. Are they the ones fighting back, pushing against what they truly are deep inside?
It sounds senseless to fight for remaining faded and tired instead of bursting gold, red, and orange. Instead, we hope the leaves cast off their wilted end-of-summer green and embrace what is deep down in the core, the beauty God has placed there to reveal in His time.
Maybe in the middle of our own everyday mess, mixed right into the struggles, God is preparing us for something. Maybe He wants us to choose to take hold, to dig deeper, to look beyond the mess and frustration, to become the best version of ourselves, to reflect with unquestionable certainty the glory hidden in our hearts because of where God first chose to take up residence.
Let’s yield to living color, the kind that shines brightest when dying to self has happened first.
Lord, may the change quietly filling the air spark the same in my heart. May I allow it to wash over my life, brightening each nook and cranny and sweeping the corners clean of staleness. May cool air fill my lungs as I breathe in Your grace and breathe out the old. May I learn, embrace, marvel at what the trees know. Amen.
Anna,
How appropriate that your little miracle arrived just in time for “Pumpkin Spice” season…congratulations! Your family is beautiful! So true that when we go through the hard times – the trials and the crucible of suffering, even unto death, that’s when the world sees our “true color.” It’s easy to blend in when things are going along swimmingly, but turn up the heat in the crucible a bit and you will see what people are made of. All the more reason why we need to have the right mix of chemicals – the Word of God at our core. When the going gets tough, may we shine forth brilliantly with blazing color that points directly to our Maker. Beautiful post!
Blessings,
Bev xx
Thankyou Bev…Copied your reply and saved to my notes… really needed this .. my true colours a little off lately , lonesome, anxious and tired In my marriage of 52 years.. with someone very moody and inward.
Cheryl,
I speak from experience – my true color being WAY off (lifeless and drab, mud-brown). These are anxious and lonesome times – all the more reason to dive head-first into His Word each day. It doesn’t solve all our problems, but can change how we view them. Lifting you in prayer right now sweet sister…may it bring some comfort to know you are furiously loved by the lover of your soul…
Blessings,
Bev xo
Thank you, Bev! He has certainly been a sweet addition to my already favorite season 🙂
A worthy addendum, Bev! So appreciate your observations and insights, such as “We need to have the right mix of chemicals–the Word of God at our core.” Amen!
I needed this today! My family is preparing to move to Italy for ministry and has been waiting about a year for visas to come through. On top of the waiting game we are praying for finances and have to be out of our current rental home by the end of October. As I try to keep my days flowing regularly, homeschooling 3 of my 4 children, I also need to be packing and selling furniture, mentally preparing for one move after another, and clinging to God’s care and keeping to keep me sane. May my true colors come out during this season to shine for Christ despite the messiness I feel surrounding me.
Wow April! What an adventure. Blessings as you continue to prepare your heart and home.
Oh Anna this is so good! It really encourages me to live a life pleasing to God.
You have a Beautiful family and your new Baby is so sweet.
Thank you so much, Julia!
We all can learn a lot from the leaves and the beautiful colours they change. From Green too the lovely golden yellow colour they are in the Autumn that they are that fall to ground by the wind. We sometimes are bit green when we feel sick. Like the colour of the leaf. When we know something not right in our in lives. We feel green and sick it does not go away especially if a problem or something we know have to put right. We are like that green leaf hanging at the edge of that branch just about to fall. We like that leaf we are dying inside with worry about the problem we have or the thing we have not right in our lives. The only way we are going to get it put right. Is to pray to God. Let his love shine in us. Through the Holy Spirit telling us what to do next. How to deal with the problem or something we know we have to put right. Like the leaf we don’t want to stay sick. The leaf will then die green with black edges. Not nice. We will feel sick and green plus black like the leaf that is going to die when the wind in going to knock it to the ground. We don’t want to have the dead sick feel have problem or thing we have to put right over our heads. So if we do what God through this Holy Spirit tells us to do. With the problem. God will help us then we will be like the good leaves. No the leafs about to die. We will be Golden yellow shinning for God from the inside out for all to see. Like the leaves that are good that turn yellow and golden when the sun shines on them that are not sick. We will be glad we Prayed to God asked his Holy Spirit what to do. We did what it said. So we can learn from the leaves. Love today’s reading like all incourage readings. Xxxx
Thanks for being here, Dawn.
I used to dread the end of summer. Now, in this season of life, I am starting to see His glory in fall. The scientific explanation of chlorophyll and green leaves makes sense to me. The spiritual application of dying to self so His glory can shine bright is encouraging and well, miraculous. Like only God can do.
So glad the analogy made sense to you, Nancy! It was a gamechanger for me.
Insightful observations, Anna. With you I desire “to reflect with unquestionable certainty the glory hidden in our hearts because of where God first chose to take up residence.” Hallelujah!
Anna,
Congratulations on the addition. You have a precious family!! I couldn’t agree more with this article! It is in trials/tribulations that God works to grow & mature us. Making us more into His likeness. During those times we tend to run to & cling hard to Him. We know only He can see us through that trial. When we’ve gone through that dark valley our colors can really shine. I can attest to that. My aging dad went through geriatric psych & hospitalization twice. It was hard at the time, but now my true self is shining. I have more trust & faith in God than ever before. He has blessed me with a good part time job that uses allows me to empathize with RNs, CNAs, patients & their families. I also get to help them. God is truly using me know. That is one of my prayers – Lord here I am use me.
Blessings 🙂
thank you for this beautiful inspiring message*
I loved the lesson God is teaching me from your study on leaves! This analogy truly came almost as a revelation to me. There has been so much decreasing or death to self, so Jesus may increase. Our true colors are shown in the hardest, driest, stormiest moments of life.
I’m a bit behind in reading some posts so I vowed today to read the oldest and the newest until I’m caught up. Boy, am I ever glad I Did! I’d forgotten all my leaf knowledge and your explanation was so interesting. A perfect reminder that what is seen on the outside is no where near the depth of what is on the inside – a person, a book, a talent, a building, our perceived imperfections that may not be imperfections at all…a perfect analogy that our best selves are still in there and keep looking and praying for them to shine through!
Awesome, awesome reading! Blessings to you and yours!