The Leaves of Fall and the Call to Leave

As I watch the golden levels gently floating to the ground from the woodlands behind our home, it presents a brilliant beauty and I look forward to each year.  In watching I am reminded that, like the snowflake, the leaf is an individual creation by our God.  As I was teaching my class this morning about several connecting points about leadership, the leaves and the snowflakes and those minds and lives listening and watching me were all a parallel for each of them are alike in so many ways and unique in so many ways.

Last evening I was honored to sing to a group of approximately fifty elder folks in a near nursing care facility and what a blessing that was.  To get to sing God's glory to people that are tired, aging, mentally affected as well as physically and with loved ones there that visit with them always takes me to tears. Like those leaves and those snowflakes, age makes no real distinction in its relentless quest to consume our uniqueness, our joy and our enjoyment of things so easily not even thought about ten or twenty short years earlier.  Seeing those eyes light up when I sang, hands clamping when possible,  husbands and wives for over sixty years just holding each other through tears, seeing a toe tap to the rhythm and a few mouthing the lyrics ... what a plethora of joy that was and I realized all over again I am getting to do what I believe God put me on this earth to do.

So in a twelve hour time frame yesterday, I touched the hearts of fifty people I may never see again, some of them and got to teach twenty-one your minds all, like the leaves, will be green and strong, turn a shade as age comes and then will be blown to the ground of time by a puff of wind at God's timing.  Can you see why I love doing what I do now more clearly?

Life is short and fragile and so beautiful.  Seeing life through the heart of an eighty year old woman in tears as her daughter sitting behind her with the exact same eyes and smile and tears just loving that few remaining hours or days together with me makes it all worth it.  Yes, these twelve hours have affected me deeply but in a great and joyous way ... a blessing I wanted to share this day.

So the question, when time comes and that puff of wind God sends takes you from your firm footing to a destination, do you know that destination for you can you know? 

Through my disappointments
Strife and discontentment
I cast my every care upon the Lord
No matter what obsession
Pain or deep depression
I am standing on the Solid Rock.

I sung that song last night but the meaning is this day much, much deeper and richer and sweeter to me.  I want you to be able to sing that song with your heart!