The autumn season in Ontario is a great one, isn’t it?  I had the opportunity this weekend to visit a bustling place outside of London called “Apple Land Station”.  The trees have turned colours, the pumpkins are ready, the apples have been picked, and the corn is being harvested.  In Daniel we are reminded that God is the one who designed the seasons:

“Blessed be the name of God forever and ever,

    to whom belong wisdom and might.

21 

He changes times and seasons;

    he removes kings and sets up kings;

he gives wisdom to the wise

    and knowledge to those who have understanding;

22 

he reveals deep and hidden things;

    he knows what is in the darkness,

    and the light dwells with him.

What an imaginative Creator, God is.  Like our Creator God, He has created us with the ability to create as well (after all we are created in God’s image).   We cannot create things out of nothing as God has done, but we do have the ability to be creative with our own ideas, or create things with the materials around us, or shape our ideas into poems or stories.  Enjoy this lovely poem (see bottom) about the season of autumn by Joyce Rupp, an American author.  It is also found here.  And enjoy the long weekend enjoying His creation!

G. Hiemstra

Prayer for Autumn Days

God of the seasons, there is a time for everything;

there is a time for dying and a time for rising.

We need courage to enter into the transformation process.

God of autumn, the trees are saying goodbye

to their green, letting go of what has been.

We, too, have our moments of surrender, with all their insecurity and risk.

Help us to let go when we need to do so.

God of fallen leaves lying in colored patterns on

the ground, our lives have their own patterns.

As we see the patterns of our own growth, may we learn from them.

God of misty days and harvest moon nights, there is always

the dimension of mystery and wonder in our lives.

We always need to recognize your power-filled presence.

May we gain strength from this.

God of harvest wagons and fields of ripened grain, many gifts

of growth lie within the season of our surrender.

We must wait for harvest in faith and hope.

Grant us patience when we do not see the blessings.

God of geese going south for another season, your wisdom enables

us to know what needs to be left behind and what needs to be carried into the future.

We yearn for insight and vision.

God of flowers touched with frost and windows wearing white designs,

may your love keep our hearts from growing cold in the empty seasons.

God of life, you believe in us, you enrich us,

you entrust us with the freedom to choose life.

For all this, we are grateful. Amen