Leaves

I love being outside…

 …and I presume many of us love being out and about in the Lake District. One thing that always comes to me at this time of year, is how we see part of God’s divine nature in the leaves.

I don’t just mean that they look really nice, as they turn from green to browns, yellows and reds…that is pretty impressive. But more so when I think about what is really going on. So, with my ‘O’ level in biology, I remember learning that the leaves turning colour is something to do with how the trees offload the waste in their body (biology specialists…sorry!!)

Now, when I look at how mankind deals with getting rid of our waste, sadly that doesn’t really look good, our refuse dumps being full of waste, our waste plastics being shipped to other parts of the world where they can deal with them. Not very photogenic, or good for our environment. And yet here we see something about God’s heart. How does He deal with all the waste that builds up over the course of a year? He makes it into a beautiful spectacle of colours and textures that people will travel miles to see, photograph and experience…wow!

Furthermore, when the leaves fall off the trees and rot down (yes rot down!) they become the very thing that new seeds, young seedlings and established trees need for strength to grow; that is they become a rich nutrient-based compost…double wow!!

I really would have loved to have been in that ‘earth planning’ meeting in heaven where Jesus asks the Father…”so what are we going to do with all that waste…I mean there is going to be a lot of it after a couple of thousands of years?” And God replies…” We’ll turn it into the very stuff that the other plants need to grow”…amazing!!!

But the even more amazing part is that this is not just chemistry and biology…it shows us His divine nature in taking something that mankind generally sees as being rubbish, waste, and ‘dirty rags’. And He makes it into something that is useful, beautiful and that helps other things grow.

And finally, the most incredible part is that He does this in me. Not just once, but time and time again he takes my mess, my waste, my dirty rags and makes it into something useful, beautiful that helps me and those around me grow and even thrive…triple wow!!!

So, this Autumn as you wonder at the spectacle of the leaves changing colour, maybe consider the beauty of how He continually (even more than once a year) takes the mess in our lives and makes us beautiful. What a God!!!