All Things Bright and Beautiful

The change in seasons stirs something inside of me. I remember the past season, and I anticipate the next.  Right now, I’m remembering the long summer days when I could sit on the deck and watch the hummingbirds visit our flowers.  

But fall brings new delights, like picking apples with our grandchildren!

 The hummingbirds left about a month ago. I miss them, but I know they had to go. They left on a day when the winds from the north pushed them southward. They’re probably enjoying wonderful flowers in Central America right now.

God knew I was missing the hummingbirds, so the next day He gave me a beautiful gift. I had been hoping to see a lot of monarch butterflies this summer in our garden.  Sadly, only a few visited. But the day after the hummingbirds left, monarchs landed on our butterfly bushes and stayed for hours!

They were fueling up for their incredibly long journey to Mexico.

Although the monarchs were just passing through, the faithful bees remain. They keep me company, busily combing over the last of our flowers for nectar and pollen.

And thousands of crickets fill our woods.  I don’t see them, but I HEAR them at night! They rub their wings together, like violinists creating heavenly, symphonic music that surrounds me on all sides.

 Have you ever heard them?   It’s as if they’re singing a song of praise to God:

“O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!”

Psalm 8:9

The other day I was feeling down. I went outside to look at our flowers and the beautiful maple trees in back. I had prayed a lot about something that was bothering me. I decided to listen to a praise song by Chris Tomlin called “Holy Forever.”

As I was listening, I looked up at the trees. They were swaying back and forth, and I could hear their leaves rustling from the strong gusts of wind that blew. It was an awesome moment. They were joining in the praise!

“For you will go out with joy and be led forth with peace;

The mountains and the hills will break forth into shouts of joy before you,

and all the trees of the field will clap their hands.”

Isaiah 55:12

Thank you, Lord, for these loving gifts that dazzle my eyes and delight my ears in each season of life…hummingbirds and monarchs in the summer, and crickets and pumpkins in the fall.   

But most of all, I’m thankful for you. Just like the wind in the trees, you stir my heart to worship and adore you. Jesus, I know you’re there and you’ll never leave me.

I cling to these reassuring words you spoke to your disciples after you rose from the dead:

“And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Matthew 28:20

Thank you. I am never alone.