The Awe and Wonder of Autumn

Autumn is a time of renewed friendship, fellowship, and reflection. 

By: David Goodrich, middle school principal

“The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.”
(Psalm 19:1)

Autumn may be my favorite season, as it reminds me most of the wonder and majesty of our Creator. For me, autumn is the beginning of an end and the hopeful anticipation of a new, fresh start. The nostalgia of the season ushers in a period that mesmerizes our senses, encourages our belonging, and provides us with moments of solace and reflection. 

The nostalgia of the Season

Autumn is a time of renewed friendship, fellowship, and reflection … weekend trips to the mountains, pumpkin patches, picking apples, and sharing smores while snuggled up around the campfire with friends and family. It is also a time for weekend retreats to hunting lodges, fly fishing on the Pier Marquette River in Northern Michigan, tailgating with friends for college football, the Middle School Hoedown, trick or treating, and getting a piece of grandma’s homemade pumpkin or apple pie. 

AWE AND WONDER

As a young boy, I vividly remember standing in the Pier Marquette River and being mesmerized by all of the exploding colors, the stillness of the river, the bustling of wildlife, and the illumination of the night sky. There, one can’t help but be caught up by and reflect on the mystery of our Creator.

Truly the psalmist was right when he declared in Psalm 8:3-4, “When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?”  

Amid the awe and wonder of autumn, I am still astonished by the mystery of God’s creation.

Death and Life

For the Christian, autumn represents a season of death and the hope of the future promise. 1 Corinthians 15:54-57 states, “‘Death is swallowed up in victory.’ ‘O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?’ The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Nothing is more evident of “death being swallowed up in victory” than the world in autumn.

One only needs to travel to the Blue Ridge Parkway to see this truth being played out. As a family, every year we travel to the North Georgia mountains to pick apples, visit a pumpkin patch, and experience the changing of colors. Obviously, some years yield better results than others, but every year, nature’s death is displayed through a brilliance of red, yellow, and orange, resulting in the final stage of death (brown). 

I love nature because it reminds me and shows me a picture of our brokenness and desperate need for our Savior. Plants and trees must die so that new life will germinate. So too is the life of the believer. Although our bodies are perishing and fading away, “death is swallowed up in victory.” Christ’s substitutionary work has been accomplished, death is defeated, sin’s power has been broken, and the future promise is that we will join our Creator for eternity. 

Nonetheless, our work is not yet done, but our redemption is secure. The kingdom of God has come, is coming, and will one day be realized.  Therefore, let’s us take up our call to live in community to subdue the earth and make disciples. 

Community

The mission of the Church remains life’s chief purpose, “to glorify God and enjoy him forever.” A great blessing of our mission is discovered in Genesis 2:18, “Then the LORD God said, ‘It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.’”

As I reflect and look back over the last two years, a great part of our mission has been missing. To that end, I am excited to see the return of priceless opportunities such as this week’s Middle School Hoedown. I don’t know about you, but to me the Hoedown encapsulates all of the great blessings of the autumn season … the sights and sounds of our student’s laughter, pumpkins, BBQ, dancing, and fellowship. 

It is a time to look back at all that the Lord has done and continues to do. It is also the promise of a bright future that will be realized through this beloved corporate body … what the Lord is germinating and blossoming in the lives of our covenant children.

This Middle School Hoedown is more than tradition; it is an opportunity for us to experience the wise counsel of Proverbs 27:17, “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.”  It is a time to stand in awe and wonder. It is a time to reflect with gratitude for all that He has done, and it is a time to celebrate our future hope.