Comfortable Hush

I am whispering so as not to disturb the peace. This week we have had a blanket of germ induced rest, a respite from the clamoring world at our door. It is not as strange as it sounds. We have cleaned and disinfected with the rest of the world, so you will not find a Q on our door, although quarantine is precisely the state in which we have found ourselves. We have had sick kids this week, which resulted in cancellations and hibernation, all to our general quiet and comfortable hush. My calendar for September and October looked like an old fashioned newspaper, all black and white, smudgy in spots, busy with text and crammed with information. Those papers of old were great for sharing information and keeping one up to speed, but sadly lacking in readability, or visual appeal. Many a day in October I could be found rifling through the drawer searching for the elusive fine point white board marker so I might squeeze yet one more tiny reminder on a reluctant, albeit accommodating, calendar square. Please don't misunderstand. I blame nobody for the whirling pace of fall. It was one blustery day after another and the constant traipsing and traveling in most cases could not be helped. Also, please don't think that I was secretly excited to have sick children. Those of my friends who know me best, know how I crave peace and, like my friend Jane, consider nothing better than staying home for real comfort. However, I do not relish feverish brows or wracking coughs and I snuggle my children, as do the rest of you, praying for speedy recovery. I must admit to thoroughly enjoying our collective sigh when the answer to, "What do we have going on today" was a simple, "we're staying home and staying in our cozies." Life will return to normal, and I use the term loosely. The soccer schedule is winding down to a quiet din and for a moment we pause and breathe before the holidays inch their way onto church and school schedules. Christmas party did you say? Choir concert? What's that you say? Family get-together? I'm sorry. I can't hear you over the hush of chapter books and board games, lego creations and long naps.

Radical Transformation

The leaves are turning. I love autumn, with its colorful dance and crisp revelry. Like peacocks displaying their finery and vying for attention, the maples dazzle with their fiery reds, daring the other trees to match their display. The gold and orange and even purple that greets me when I step outside reminds me yet again that nothing in God's creation is stagnant. Creation is constantly changing, drawing our attention to God' handiwork in new ways. The season we're in also reminds us that the grass withers and the flowers fade but the Word of God stands forever. He alone is eternal. He Himself is a fixed point, and yet He is constantly working and making changes in us. Jesus turned water into wine, death into life, slave into free, lost into found, stranger into son. He is able to transform my life for His glory like he transforms the bright greens of summer into the varied and vibrant hues of fall. However, unlike the leaves, which eventually fall and die, the life that Jesus gives is an abundant one that is eternal, that never fades. I praise Him for this glorious, glowing season and thank Him for His redemptive work on the cross, transforming me into one whom He calls His own, and clothing me in His finery.