Well, the first hint of fall is set to blow in here on Saturday. Of course, as a Mississippian, by fall I mean highs in the 70’s and lows in the 50’s which will steadily climb back into the 80’s until the next wave of cool air arrives and we repeat the same process. When temps get too low to make cheese toast on our dash, it is considered autumn here and y’all know how I get. This is my time. The air is about to get crisp. The sky is already a ridiculous shade of blue. My steps are peppier. My voice is laced with more excitement. My outlook is brighter. I’m ready to sit around the firepit and drink hot chocolate while wearing a sweater. I kept my mouth shut and took summer on the chin. All 5 months of it. I’ve waited so long and endured so much for a chance at some chili, football, and chill bumps. And, yes, I’m even going to say it- I can’t wait for a gray, overcast, blustery day that’s not fit for anything but staying home in pajamas with a book and a bowl of soup. Yes, yes, yes!

Davis and I are taking a trip to Maine and Vermont in a couple of weeks to enjoy a real fall. You know- those places where the leaves actually turn beautiful, vivid colors before falling off the trees and not just brown from being fried to a crisp by the sun. I’ve bought sweaters and am already working on my northern fall ensemble which is quite a different thing from the southern fall line. 

While we’re down here waiting for the temps to drop on Saturday, Davis has killed a copperhead in our yard. I suppose they’re looking for a place to bed down for the winter. We’ve given up on the grass. It’s just a brown, crunchy mess at this point. Even my mums and pumpkins on the porch are droopy and  looking at me like…”um, are you sure it’s time for us? …it doesn’t feel like it’s time for us.” And still, we wait. Just because Brach’s has delivered their third shipment of mellowcreme pumpkins and autumn mix to Walmart does not the cool weather bring. But, only 60 more hours until it’s here. I can do this. I can do this.

I know not everyone has the same seasonal preferences. I know some of you enjoy torment and affliction and prefer summer and that’s ok, too. Bless your heart. God made us all different. I do love how He keeps things constantly changing. Just about the time you think you can’t take another cold and rainy day, the daffodils pop their heads out of the frozen ground. When you feel like you can’t take one more day of sweating through your clothes, you feel a cool breeze blow across your red face. We can always, always, always count on the seasons to change.

It’s usually like that in life, too. We go through seasons when we think we can’t handle another day just like the several dozens before it. Maybe it’s another day of separation or sickness or waiting and waiting. Day in and day out, nothing changes with our situation and we just want to see some movement in a more favorable direction. Sometimes, we’re in a season we just absolutely love. The climate is just right for our liking and we can’t imagine conditions being any more perfect for us. But, because life is the way it is, we know it can’t go on like that forever. Kids grow up. We age. Parents die. People leave. Jobs change. So, we make the most of our time. 

If you’re in a good season, savor each day and the people in it. Thank God for His blessings and ask how you can use them for His purposes. If you’re feeling stuck in a season that isn’t one of your choosing, trust God to walk you through it until that welcomed change finally comes. No one can be trusted more than the One “with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.” He is faithful even when we don’t understand His plan. 

“The seasons change and you change, but the Lord abides evermore the same, and the streams of His love are as deep, as broad and as full as ever.” -Charles Spurgeon 

Bundle up. It’s gonna get chilly. I feel a change a-comin’. 

Night, 

JONI