If you’re wondering why I’m so excited about the change of seasons this year, you have to remember that Rebekah and I lived just east of Tampa for the past 17 years. That’s 700 miles south of Wake Forest and well into sub-tropical territory.

We’ve been enjoying the break from Florida’s relentless heat and humidity since the day we arrived here, but last weekend’s cold snap tipped the balance in favor of fall and the colors are finally beginning to set. Reds, golds, yellows, luminescent pale greens, umber, terra-cotta, rusty browns; it’s a color palette I haven’t lived in for several decades.

I think I’ve missed the four seasons because they are so indicative of the rhythm of life. Spring, summer, fall, winter. And it’s not all over at winter; the seasons come around once again. During winter there’s so much growth going on under the surface, and the strengthening of roots; it turns out that winter is really all about spring.

Yesterday I wrote about this particular season of my life, the one that launched in my 50’s; I think it’s really a kind of springtime.

DAWN: Each new morning, waking up is a springtime of sorts too. Sometimes it’s a real struggle to get out of bed, but once I do, once I say “thank you” for the rest and “welcome” to the possibilities inherent in today, I feel newness wrap around me with a mixture of assurance and promise.

But it’s a promise that comes with a calling. Because God expects me not only to enjoy the beauty of the sacred rhythms, but to set my life to the cadence in such a way that others are encouraged to pick up the song, and to live into the promise.

This morning’s marching orders (from The Upper Room) were simple and to the point:

Jesus said to him the third time, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter felt hurt because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” And he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep.”

I’m right there with Peter, trying to let my declaration that I love Jesus be enough. But the Master won’t budge on the implication of his question. “There’s only one way I’ll ever know that you really do love me,” Jesus whispers.

And I know what Jesus means; he means that I have to love those other people too, and I should love them the way Jesus teaches me; unreservedly, self-sacrificing, like a servant; love them like Jesus.

EXCITED: So, yes, I’m excited about the fall up here in Wake Forest. But I’m the most excited about simply being alive; I’m excited about the cool, refreshing breeze that is my awareness of God’s love; and I’m excited about the calling that always comes with the promise – DEREK