Bare

 

Fall in New England is incredible.  As I’ve shared, each year, the leaves turn.  Some years the colors are more vibrant than others, but color arrives like a paintbrush over the trees.  As certain as we are that the leaves will turn, we are even more certain that the leaves will fall, which yields a much-dreaded chore for many folks, picking up the leaves.  My husband will find himself collecting the leaves multiple times throughout the week.  It is a job that is difficult to stay ahead of.  Some leaves will fall with the gentlest of breezes while others seem to need a tornado to even shift position. 

Eventually, the trees are bare.  Many of them are coming to the end of this season and soon all one will see is the silhouette of the branches.  Just as beautiful as the green leaves are in spring and the colorful leaves in autumn, the bare branches have a beauty all their own.  When I look at the tree with its dark bark against a pale blue sky, it reminds me of us and our journey in faith.

Our faith journey can find us in many different seasons.  When our journey is new, it can feel like spring – full of freshness.  In our season of summer, it can feel warm and restful, like a hug from the summer SON.  In autumn, our journey can feel colorful, filled with many different aspects of faith such as worship, servanthood, and study.  In winter, it can take on a sense of self-reflection, exposing our true selves and being ‘bare’ to Christ.

Let us not be confused, our Lord walks with us and sees us in all the seasons – long before we do!  That is especially the case in the winter season and baring ourselves to God.  Many times, this comes with a reflection on the sins we have committed throughout our lives – some small and some grave.  It may come with a reflection on how we may not have given as much of ourselves to Jesus as we wanted to – in worship, servanthood, or study.  It may also come with a reflection that no matter how much we try and learn from God’s word, we will only come away with a fragment of what is intended in the Good Book.

Yes, Jesus sees us bare long before we get there.  He sees our sins; He sees our shortcomings; He sees our doubts.  Our Lord, being the loving and merciful Lord that He is takes our exposure, the baring of ourselves in our winter season, and fills it with love, hope, joy, and grace.  Although we may look at our own bare silhouette and believe there is nothing, we can do to gain God’s love, he swoops in with the Good News that we are right!  There is nothing we can DO but believe!  If we believe, we gain his love, hope, joy, grace, and SALVATION! 

During the winter season, where we can feel as bare as the tree with no leaves, know that Jesus is right there to clothe us with righteousness and adorn us with the robe of His children.  So, bare yourself, self-reflect, and smile – for you are God’s child.

Heavenly Father, thank you for giving us the ability to bare ourselves to you, like a tree in winter, and helping us to know that no matter how bleak things may look, you are there to save us.  Amen!