Sunday Afternoon Tea - Change of seasons

After a summer of wicked heat and humidity, I think Fall has finally arrived.  I expect some would say wicked is a little over-the-top but I'm pretty certain many fellow sufferers are shaking their head in agreement.

I have never been a Summer person, with this odd combination of very dark hair and very fair skin, I could get a sunburn walking from the car to the beach, much less spending hours sitting on the sand baking in full sun.  While I may feel a bit of nostalgia at the aroma of Coppertone in a tube... it is probably the summer friendships I knew as a teenager and not the actual season I'm remembering.  No, the heat of Summer was never welcome.

So... I have to admit to a bit of stomping my feet and holding my breath in my dissatisfaction with the unseasonably hot September.  I haven't even had a sip of my beloved pumpkin spice latte.  Somehow it didn't seem appropriate in the smothering humidity.

However, as happens each year, the seasons are changing and the cool air we longed for has arrived.  The flannel housecoat has come out from the back of the closet, pumpkin bread is baked, and a throw was needed as I stretched out on the sofa with Becoming Mrs. Lewis and the Autumn issue of Victoria at my side.

It is no secret that I love that season which... in my vocabulary... begins with Fall and ends in full Autumn splendor.  For the falling of the leaves has been happening far before the temperatures indicated a change of season.  Those leaves remaining on the trees have yet to shed their green outer garments to display the glorious color they have been hiding from our view.

I desperately need Fall this year.  I need to have nature envelope me with the feeling of a chilly breeze and the aroma of leaves turning to mulch on the ground below my feet.  I need wood smoke and pullover sweaters and hot apple cider.

Mostly I need God.  The Father.  The Son.  The Holy Spirit.

As I write, only one eye sees clearly.  I fight my own personal little war against this fallen world by reading books and perusing magazines and reading recipe cards... all through the blurry vision.  I don't let it stop my everyday life any more than it has to and this lack of clear vision merely slows me down.

It makes me think of the message of the Bible when God tells us we see through a glass darkly.  My view of Him is written in His Word but experienced through the fuzzy focus of this present day world.  I must keep walking the direction He has laid out before me, even if the path is far from the clarity I desire.

In the meantime, until that day when we will see all things clearly, I appreciate the gifts He gives that encourages us as we walk the journey.  The Beauty that is around us this time of year. The echoes of Eden we see and hear if we have our eyes on their Creator.  No matter how fuzzy our vision.

Mentioned in this Blog Post
Becoming Mrs. Lewis... here.  (Full review October 2nd.)

Image:  Nostalgic-Mini by Clement Micarelli