Light It Up

     So This morning i was out walking my dog Charlie and I couldn’t help but notice the nature around me.  Fall is in full swing here in Pennsylvania and the leaves are changing colors and putting on a show that I love to watch every year.  Fall is one of my favorite seasons.  Something about it just brings peace and rest.  Cozy clothes.  Warm colors.  Hot drinks.  I love it.

  

     I was walking early enough this morning that the sun wasn’t totally out when I first started.  As we were walking the sun started peaking its head over the buildings I was around and little by little lighting up the trees.  It was as though the trees were lit on fire once the light touched them.  The colors that were somewhat dull were transformed into stunning vibrant shades or orange, yellow, and red.  I just stopped for a moment at a particularly beautiful tree and just watch it come to life in front of me.  

   

    Then I started thinking about what fall is.  Everything is dying.  Its finishing its life cycle and preparing to start a new one in the spring.  What I found beautiful this morning in watching this tree is that in the midst of death there was life.  In the midst of the leaves that were dying, once the sun hit them, they were brilliant and alive!  They were reflections of the sun itself in the beauty and light of their colors.  

   

    I think this is also true for us.  Its true for me anyway.  We are all dead in our sin.  We are walking wounded people.  Everyone has baggage and hurts and struggles and pains.  Everyone has seasons in their life that are so so hard.  The beauty of the savior we have is that he is the light.  He is the sun shining on the death that brings it to life.  He sets our lives on fire into beautiful stunning creations that bring glory to him because he is in the business of Life and of Light.  

    

     I think we sometimes get so caught up in the game of right and wrong and how good of a person I can be and what list of things can I accomplish in order to be approved of or loved.  The fact of the matter is……He is the good in us.  He is the approval we need.  He is the Love that sustains.  The rest is just dying leaves that are withered on the ground.  He transforms our dead and dying hearts into living vibrant creations!  

    

    So as I sip my warm coffee in my cozy jacket I am thankful for the Light the Lord is shining in my life.  I am thankful for how he has transformed many areas of my life from dying leaves to vibrant colors.  I am thankful that in the midst of hardship and struggle and day to day life I can see the fire..the life..the love that comes from a savior who is in the details of our lives.  Im Thankful that he is working in all of your lives as well.  I pray we all have eyes to see the beauty, the life, the Light!