bittersweet reflections - number four.

remember, a full review on shuana niequist's newest book, bittersweet, will come later, but for now, i'm using some quotes from the book as windows into my own story...

from "love song for fall" - p. 162:

"fall is harvest, when we're getting all the good stuff that someone took the time to plan many months ago. someone planted it, and now we benefit from it... plant something today that will feed someone many months or many years from now...because you've feasted on someone else's carefully planted seeds, seeds that bloomed into nourishment and kept you alive and wide-eyed."

i've said it once, and i'll say it again: i love fall. there's just something about this season that makes everybody so full of joy. personally, i think it has a little somethin to do with the fact that we're celebrating the end of a miserably hot last 3 months, and as soon as the air turns crisp, it's like the cool wind is literally relief to our so-sick-of-being-sweaty selves.

but, i also think shauna's right -- it's something about the harvest. the harvest marks the end of a growing season or cycle, and is often the cause for seasonal celebrations: aka harvest festivals - which "typically feature feasting".

what are you feasting on this fall that others spent time carefully planting and cultivating for you? i know i'm feasting on the community that has been rooted into my nashville life. i'm feasting on months of time and energy poured into ministry and relationships that are beginning to bear fruit. i'm feasting on the birth of exciting endeavors at work (after what feels like a very long, labor-intensive season of preperation)...

and what are you planting in your world? how are you using the vibrant energy of fall to bring life to those around you?

let this change of season push you forward. as the leaves shift their color and fall to the earth, make some adjustments and let go of that which is robbing you of pure joy.

*and if you aren't familiar with this "fall joy" i speak of - i recommend jumping in some leaves, throwing on a scarf, and drinking a pumpkin spice latte. (maybe not all at the same time...or maybe so.)

"use the first day of fall: bright flame before winter's deadness; harvest; orange, gold amber; cool nights and the smell of fire... the leaves as they spark into wild color just before they die are the worlds oldest performance art, and everything we see is celebrating one last violently hued hurrah before the black and white and silence of winter. fall is begging for us to dance and sing and write with just the same drama and blaze." (p. 162-163)