It’s not as spectacular as the foliage in New England, but New Mexico has its own special beauty in the fall.On our hike this past week, we did not find fields filled with color. Instead, we saw spots of color highlighted amidst an evergreen and desert-brown landscape. All the more special for being unexpected, these colors delighted our eyes and prompted conversation about our years of living on the east coast.
The colors of fall are the colors of fire. Bright oranges, reds, and yellows, they stand out against the cool evergreens and background browns. In much the same way, some seasons in our lives stand out for how they catch us on fire, whether it be an exciting new challenge at work or teaching a child how to walk or read.
For some of us, the colors of fall are present in the produce of our gardens. Last night I roasted a bunch of those steadily ripening red Roma tomatoes, while earlier in the week I cooked up a nice-sized orange pumpkin that I’d picked up at the last farmer’s market of the season. To me, these colors speak of the abundance of harvest, and the abundance of God in my own life: of love, of work, of having enough to share. I’ll be taking one of those box lids full of tomatoes to church on Sunday afternoon to see if I can’t share this abundance.
What are the colors of this season of your life? Are you on fire, or are you in a cool zone? What do those colors represent for you? Where do you find God in it all?