It’s Autumn here. The mornings are quite cool and crisp. The dew turns to frost and everything sparkles in the early light. The days can still be sunny and warm, though there is that Autumn wind that causes me to grab the jacket, pull on the boots and stock the wood pile. Well, I tell Hubby to get the wood ready, but you know what I mean 😉

I love watching the leaves on the trees turn colour. That’s one of my favourite parts of Autumn. Around home we have many deciduous trees. I see shades of red and orange and bright yellow, and the leaves slowly fall, as they begin their preparation for the dormant season of Winter.

I often think how good it was of God to give us such beauty before and after the harsh barrenness that often comes with Winter. Both Autumn and Spring are splashed with vibrant colours. From the changing leaves to the budding blooms and bright flowers that follow.

I have two small, still quite young Crepe Myrtle trees, sure to provide such beauty for my garden. They are in large pots at my front door, ready and waiting for the Spring planting. Though, I am very worried about one of them. Maybe I didn’t water it enough, (that has happened before – i’m not gonna lie) maybe it was just eager for Winter, (I’m grasping – I know) but it has already lost all its leaves. Its neighbour is showing beautiful red leaves and dropping them one by one. However, with this one, there was no shades of changing colours, no slow fall of the leaves, they just turned orange and within days they had all dropped off.

I have no way of knowing if this tree has died – I am not cutting into the branches in case you were going to suggest that! Or if it will come to life again next Spring. It will be a long wait. And that got me thinking. I know life is full of changes. And we all go through seasons of waiting and winter, where things are buried and we have to wait for new growth to appear. Though how often are we caught in between seasons? Like my tree – A season of the long wait…when we are not sure of the outcome? Perhaps something has happened and caused us to wilt or wither, perhaps even quite unexpectedly…and perhaps we dont even know how we will survive this.

I have found there is only one thing we can do when we are faced with a long wait…and that is HOPE.

I tried stress – it didnt work.. worry gets you nowhere and fear leads you deeper into the dark…Hope is your only chance to survive.

God is faithful! We can hope in Him alone! He has always been good and will continue to be good. He has always provided and will continue to provide. He has always been my source of strength and peace and He will not stop now.

Hebrews 13: 8 tells us…

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

This is how we hold onto hope – we remember the truth –

He does not change, and if He was faithful then, He will be faithful now and remain faithful even as we wait for tomorrow…

Read Lamentations 3:21-23 with me…

21 Yet I still dare to hope
    when I remember this:

22 The faithful love of the Lord never ends![a]
    His mercies never cease.
23 Great is his faithfulness;
    his mercies begin afresh each morning.