The Beauty of Transformation

“To be interested in the changing season is a happier state of mind than to be hopelessly in love with spring.” ~George Santayana

Billowy cotton clouds dot the blue sky while the sun’s rays stretch a warm embrace. Trees wear capes of crimson, gold, or plum, proudly displaying their newfound splendor. A cardigan is soft around my shoulders, a cup of tea is warm in my hands, and leaves crunch beneath my feet. Delicious autumn is here at last.

Something about an authentic autumn sets my soul’s true north. I grew up in Central Illinois, where we experienced the cool weather and beauty of fall. I now live in South Texas, where we do not. Although the calendar says the season has changed, we have nothing external to tell us so.

I took the rhythm of the season’s change for granted when I lived in a region where a turn of the calendar’s page meant more than the passage of time; it meant change was coming. Change in wardrobe—cozy sweatshirts replaced T-shirts. Change in yard work—leaf raking replaced mowing. But the season brought other, less obvious changes as well—the call to embrace transformation.

In the fall, colorful trees offer a gorgeous example of change. In their splendor, they are undeniably different than they were in the season before—they’re more glorious. This transformation is beautiful and not harmful for one reason: photosynthesis. The word means “putting together with light.” The trees spent all spring and summer diligently making enough provision for themselves to last all year, using the incredible recipe of sunlight, carbon dioxide, and water. The work they did then, when the living was easy, is what will carry them through the weeks and months when sunlight and water are less plentiful.

The season of life you are in may or may not feel any different to you than the one before, but we are all being summoned into transformation. The apostle Paul counsels, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will” (Rom. 12:2 NIV).

We don’t always store up spiritual provision for ourselves when the living is easy, but we’d do well to take our cue from the trees. The time we invest in our relationship with God when we aren’t in crisis will help to sustain us when we feel parched and chilled by circumstances. When harsh winds blow, it’s far easier to reach into our mental storehouses and pull out a meaningful verse or truth revealed from seasons past than to scramble through the Bible’s concordance in the hopes of finding something relevant.

Our hearts are warmed when we pull back the drapes and allow God’s light to cover our daily needs. We can find the most beautiful display of splendor even on the darkest and driest of days.

Linger a bit in your time with God today. Sit and listen after you’ve spent time praying and asking for direction. See if he has something to say to you. If your schedule doesn’t allow for an extended quiet time, write out a verse that speaks to you, then put it in your car to read at red lights or in the afterschool pick-up line. Begin to fill up a storehouse for yourself to pull from in seasons to come, or even later this week, and enjoy the beauty of transformation.

Melinda Mattson will follow any sign that leads to the promise of vintage décor and repurposed treasures. As a wife and mom to two dear daughters, her home is filled with equal measures of sugar and spice. She loves kindness and Jesus and is glad they’re meant to come as a package deal. She aims to embrace both with equal fervor. Melinda blogs at www.melindamattson.com.

Photograph © Bethany Beams, used with permission

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