Come Before Winter

November 10,1990. That was the day I married my best friend. It was a beautiful fall afternoon. The leaves had begun their color transformation, turning their lush green into a blazing array of a warm yellow, fiery orange and a touch of deep garnet at their edges. Like flames that warm you from a fire stabilizing the heat from the erratic blue flame that had found strength to insure it was powerful enough to set ablaze. Extreme, yet pure, and unable to deny it's heat. Now, the color testifies that it is stable, secure and sure of it's course. Autumn.

Winter had passed not so long before. Though it was sure to come full circle again. I could not even think of what the next winter would bring. The last one left me chilled and longing for Spring. It had been an unexpectedly long one. Longer than I'd experienced in my life. I suppose that is easily explained though. I had just turned twenty-three when it was looking to come to an end. This was a pleasant surprise. I guess I had grown accustomed to winter and the never ending chill of the air. Always pictured as the time when snow would cover the earth, hiding it's scars. Or was it healing and preparing for the life that would explode in radiant colors soon? It was comforting to have a warm blanket, like the shelter of a wing, to snuggle in when the days were pressing to be too cold to bear. I knew Spring would come though I'd lost track of the days. Now it was lurking just around the corner like a child playing hide-n-seek, only wanting to be found.

A pleasant breeze approached quietly. Behind it was a hint of warmth that enveloped my very being. I wasn't numb as I had anticipated I might be. It was refreshing and invigorating to feel the warmth and see the dead of winter fading as life pressed up from the earth beneath my feet and from the branches above me. The trees had been stripped of their color when the winds of the cold winter nights blew. Now, they were budding in hints of a brilliant green that burst forth singing of new life. I watched the new growth with amazement. Intrigued when the flowers started blooming. One by one,, they declared their arrival. An array of colors, bright and beautiful, rejoicing in the sunshine as it bathed everything it touched with it's gentle warm touch. Effortlessly,as if no time had passed, it was Spring.

Everything was in full bloom and full of entrancing fragrances. The earth called the oceans wave by wave. Laughter and love in the air at the water's edge, shouting to the highest mountain tops. The trees waved back in response to their call. The journey would soon begin. As Summer slowed to pass on, the nights became cooler, drawing us closer.

Reflective of the discovery that the seasons would keep drawing us forward, we made plans to celebrate. We invited everyone we could think of, hoping they would be present on this exhilarating day of declaration. Though time stood still, it was only for a brief moment and then- Then it had flown by as if there were no tomorrow. The leaves had begun their colorful transformation, turning their lush green into a blazing array of a warm yellow, fiery orange and a touch a deep garnet at their edges. A picture to be captured. A season to behold. Today, we would declare our Autumn.

This season we declared would be best described as our element. Autumn, a declared commitment to a lifetime of love, reflecting on the gift God had given us. First, His love and life through Him. That was an Autumn that came in the Spring for both of us, decades apart. Then, a commitment to love each other for a lifetime together. Though we were well aware the seasons of life would come and go in a continuous cycle, we would stop and reflect in Autumn.

And so it is with life and love. Though we face the cold of Winter, there will come a Spring. As life catches us again and helps us to run, even soar as we press on, not stopping short of Summer, where love and life call for us. Pausing in Autumn to answer, reflecting, as to not pass too quickly through the experiences and relationships God has given us. A time of gratitude and commitment.

I celebrate my irrevocable love and commitment in marriage to my best friend today, November 10, 2009. This is Autumn. Showing its' most deep and brilliant colors, not to be forgotten in winter and promising Spring.
Winter will follow Autumn. Let your leaves turn and declare your commitment to those you love. Respond to those who call to love you. To a God who has called you by name. It will bring a promise, a hope, of Spring. Come before Winter.