September 29, 2007
Newsletter Archives

With the leaves beginning to change color, trees are announcing that the summer theatre is closing its doors in preparation for the autumn drama. A new season is about to begin. In its wake are other changes. School is already in full swing. We will be storing summer furniture, busy with harvest, celebrating Thanksgiving and-soon enough- making preparation for the Christmas holidays.
What impresses me so much about autumn is the awesome beauty of the season. What strikes me is the lesson I see in this. God has left the blaze of glory for the end of life. I think of people I have known who are now gone. As they faced the end of their days they became sweeter, more mellow, a greater joy to be with.
I have also seen sad exceptions to this. Life has its trials and some people allow themselves to become bitter. They build up an account of hostility accumulated from perceived wrongs, misunderstandings, slights, and a multitude of other hurts.
There are two ways to leave this world. In the Bible, Job notes both. He observes: “One dieth in his full strength, being wholly at ease and quiet. And another dieth in the bitterness of his soul, and never eateth with pleasure.” Job 21:23,25.
The Psalmist speaks of those who have placed their trust in God and shows the wonderful result of this. He states: “The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree: he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Those that be planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing” Psalm 92:12-14.
How we end our days depends on our attitude. We can go out with glory or with gloom. The fall season is a first-class reminder of what will mark the closing seasons of our life.

Russ Nesbit