5-Minute Friday: Growing

The Gypsy Mama

Most people don't think of Fall as a growing season.  Mention "growing things," and folks assume the next words out of your mouth will be something about Spring, new planting, tulip bulbs, and twitter-pated animals.  (I can't believe I was all of 33 before the etymology, so to speak, of the term "twitter-pated" dawned on me!)  Yet, Autumn is a growing time, an important step in the process of nature's functioning and continuing to thrive.  First and foremost, things do actually come into their own in the autumn; granted, most plants are beginning to wrap their withering leaves around themselves, slowly sink into their cozy beds, and hunker down to wait for the spring thaw, but there are growing things that come to fruition in autumn, or even winter.

More importantly, however, is the round of "seed time and harvest," the fact that, as Scripture says, there can be no new life until there is death.  A seed falls into the ground in order to give life to a new plant in its own likeness.  Autumn has always felt like a very refreshing and alive time for me, because everyone and everything draws a long breath after a rushed summer full of activities, sweat, and daylight savings time, and we allow ourselves the rest that is vital to growth.  I've never seen falling leaves as signs of death and growing old.  Rather, the autumn pause is a time to refresh and prepare for the new burst of life that spring will bring.  It's all a necessary part of the process of growing.