LEAVES AND LOSS

Like abundant leaves on a spreading tree
    that sheds some and puts forth others,
so are the generations of flesh and blood:
    one dies, and another is born.

[sirach 14:18 NRSVUE]

Autumn is a photographer’s dream when it comes to capturing color.

The flamboyant foliage has been late arriving to Northeastern Ohio, so I have yet to get out and snap the natural brilliance that nature provides each fall.

But I wanted to share a few of my favorites on this page from years past. They were taken at the Goodyear Heights Metropolitan Park in Akron, and the Mogadore Reservoir.

There are six in the following slide show, but you may click on any photo to pause and sit with it for a while.

My inspiration drove me to search for a cheerful passage about colorful leaves in scripture, but to my surprise, I found not a one.

Amazingly, when leaves are mentioned in scripture, the praise is heaped upon the growth, and the most preferred color is green.

Blessed are those who trust in the Lord,
    whose trust is the Lord.
 They shall be like a tree planted by water,
    sending out its roots by the stream.
It shall not fear when heat comes,
    and its leaves shall stay green;
in the year of drought it is not anxious,
    and it does not cease to bear fruit.

Jeremiah 17:7-8 NRSVUE (also see Psalm 1:1-3)

As much as we humans love to see the beauty and splendor of trees bursting with vivid arrays of orange, red, and yellow leaves in the Fall, it is actually a sign of decay and impending death.

Scientifically, leaves change color because they stop producing chlorophyll as the temperatures drop. The trees, in turn, expel the dying leaves in order to survive. Otherwise, they, too, would meet the same lethal fate.

Naturally, I began making the connection with the human life cycle, as I am about to approach another birthday soon.

And I came to the unsettling conclusion that just as trees shed their leaves, aging is a natural biological cycle among mortals, rather than something to fight or fear.

I’ve come to terms with my mortality for quite some time now. Still, it jars the system slightly when one is unexpectedly reminded of it.

Yes, there is a certain beauty in aging, although the human version is not quite as splendid or as radiant as the botanical one.

Creases and wrinkles will never compete with the beauty of colorful leaves.

Yet there is something inherently appealing in growing old.

There is wisdom to impart, and experiences to share to those who are eager and willing to receive it.

So I relish these days we enjoy as we watch the days grow shorter and the leaves flow gently downward to the earth below.

And I remain ever mindful that my days on earth also diminish as the time approaches when God begins preparing a place of welcome for me.

Let us pray.
Look with mercy, O God our Father, on all whose increasing years bring them weakness, distress, or isolation. Provide for them homes of dignity and peace; give them understanding helpers, and the willingness to accept help; and, as their strength diminishes, increase their faith and their assurance of your love. This we ask in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
(Book of Common Prayer, p. 830)