Leaves

I was sitting in my big comfy chair, legs stretched out on the ottoman and holding a warm mug of Chi-Tea. The house was quiet and the sun was setting. To the right of my chair just through the kitchen are french doors that look out into the back yard. Something caught my eye. There was a beautiful yellow leaf gently floating to the ground....followed by a red one and then a fiery orange leaf as well. Today, on November 1, 2013, I am thankful for leaves. These past few weeks our church has been having a sermon series about Hebrews 12: 1-2. There is a part in that passage that says "laying aside every weight...". I have spent some time reflecting on just what those weights are for me. They aren't always bad things, I mean the scripture goes on to say "...and the sin which does so easily beset us"...so I know the weights aren't necessarily sin. They are just things that weigh us down...maybe things that make our life harder. As I watched those leaves floating downward, it occured to me that they will never be back on that branch. Other leaves may come, but the fallen ones will never be back. They have been "laid aside". It's remarkable to me how different a tree looks without the beautiful ornamentation of the leaves. The leaves give bright buds of green foliage in the spring....followed by bursts of greenery....then slowly emblazening into reds and yellows...and then....they are gone. A bare tree...just branches and trunk. I've been there. I've been at those points in my life when God said, "Ok, it's time for everything to go". It was just me and Him. Times when I felt like my whole life had been stripped away. I had lost friends, a child, a church, a ministry, a marriage, my health...my hair. Stripped down...just me and Him. Somethings we choose to have leave our life but other things leave on their own. Either way, it hurts. I think sometimes we try too hard to hold on to things that are just weighing us down. Maybe it's a relationship that isn't good for us. Maybe it's a job that is holding us back from being where we need to be. Possibly it's a habit or addiction that is costing us way more than we ever intended to pay. You know what's really neat about the leaves falling off the branches? The branches start lifting higher as the weight falls off. They aren't overwhelmed by the mass anymore....they are free. Free. The leaves aren't necessary for the survival of the branch...they just make it a little prettier. What is it that you need to lay aside? What or who is weighing you down? Here is what I know...once those leaves are gone, they won't be back. The beauty of it is this, once they have left and you have had some time to lift back up...there will be room for some new leaves. My goal this year is to bud some pink glittery ones.