November...already?

And when October goes
The snow begins to fly
Above the smokey roofs
I watch the planes go by
The children running home
Beneath a twilight sky
Oh, for the fun of them
When I was one of them...


This Barry Manilow song has been echoing through my brain for the past few days. I'm trying to come to terms with the fact that it is already November, I suppose.


I should have prefaced this all by stating that autumn is my favorite season of the year. For as long as I can remember I have always looked forward to fall. School starting, football games, leaves changing color, warmish days with cool, crisp evenings, fresh apples, all things having to do with pumpkins...I just love this time of year!


A good friend of mine once chided me saying, "Your favorite season is when everything starts to die?" Until that moment, I had never thought of it in those terms. That just seemed sooooo depressing. But autumn is definitely a season of dramatic change. Days get shorter, temperatures cool down, and the leaves fall from the trees.


I am in a season of life that is challenging me to my very core. Like the trees, I find myself being called upon to release things that have been attached to me for quite some time. Old attitudes, habits, material desires. At times I feel quite bare, just like the trees in my yard. What will happen next? What will the next season in my life bring? I don't have any answers.

As October goes, November arrives. Traditionally a time to express thanks for all of our blessings. An attitude of gratitude. A thankful heart overflowing with the abundance of God's grace and mercy. While I'm waiting for the next season, I think I will take some time to enjoy where I am and count my blessings.

We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures. ~Thornton Wilder