leaves

Leaves, leaves, leaves!  Everywhere I look there are leaves.  I know, it's summer, so there should be leaves on the trees, but they seem to be particularly thick this year.  Usually I can sit in my kitchen and watch the city fireworks through the leaves on our tree, and over the tree across the street.  This year it was impossible to see the fireworks.  Now, part of this is that the neighbor's tree continues to grow, but most of it is because both of our trees were over-full with leaves.  To the West I can't see the house next door.  The trees to the south of town are full of leaves.  The leaves all over town are larger and fuller than usual, and the trees have more of them.  Why? I have no idea, but I know what it will mean in a few more months: lots of multi-colored ground cover!


We are out of touch with the flow of nature.  Our ancestors knew it.  They had to, their lives depended on it.  Our lives no longer depend on it.  We have heat.  We have air conditioning.  We have indoor plumbing, and water as soon as we turn on the faucet.  Our ancestors would know what it means that there are more leaves this year. They would watch for the thickness of the tomato skins, the length of the cucumbers, the sweetness of the melons, the fact that there seem to be fewer birds this year.  Jesus said that we would know what was happening by the signs, but it seems we no longer know the signs.  What has taken their place in our spiritual lives?




Open our eyes that we may see.  Open our ears that we may hear.  Open our hearts that we may feel.  Open us, O God, to the leading and guiding of your Spirit in our lives.  Open us to the needs of your people around us. Open us to the new, the challenging, the untried.  Open us to seeing and hearing and feeling you living and moving within and around us.  And give us grace to stop and observe your world.....Amen