Take Time To Smell The...Leaves

As we all rush through our busy lives, too often we overlook some of the simpler, subtler and more precious of this world’s pleasures. The fall season is now full upon us, with the first breaths of frost coaxing from the trees the full spectrum of their fall colors; golden yellows, brilliant oranges, and, finally, the fiery, blazing reds that catch our eye…and cause us to catch our breath. Indeed, ere too many days are past, we shall be visited by the first snows of winter, so if you have not yet done so, I entreat you to take time this week to enjoy what may very well be the last few glorious sunny days of the season. My new-found autumn haven is a secluded, soft, grassy hill where one can lay in the warmth of the afternoon sun, gaze dreamingly into the sapphire-blue sky, enjoy the rich, earthy smell of damp fallen leaves, and feel the cool tingle of the fall breeze on one’s skin; giving one cause to think longingly of the waning days of summer. Share, if you can, these moments with a good book, the company of a dear friend (even if only by cell phone;-) or the loving memory of someone whom you hold close in your heart, if not in your arms. For surely these are the days that God created to allow us a brief glimpse of what wonders as might await us in heaven and it would be tragic indeed if we did not take pause and embrace them.