The woman was on her knees in the wet grass, camera poised a few inches away from a few newly fallen leaves. Their red and orange was brilliant against the summer’s green and she knelt to preserve the memory of their colors.  I only saw her for a moment as I turned a corner on my way to the office. I really wanted to stop the car and join her, kneeling to honor the ending of one season and the arrival of still another. But I was running late and a car was rushing up behind me and so I kept on, propelled by speed and the urgency of the clock.Inside me however, I knew she was doing the more noble thing…trying to capture the beauty of a fallen leaf…a beauty that lasts so briefly.

One of my favorite memories of childhood was collecting leaves, mostly maple or oak, and placing them between pieces of waxed paper. I would arrange them in different configurations, matching and contrasting colors… bright yellow, burnt orange, fiery red. Then, with my mother’s help, I would gently iron the two pieces of paper together. It was primitive laminating! Then we would hang the paper in the windows, creating a sense of forever falling leaves.

Somehow when I did this I hoped to capture the beauty of the fall colors and hold them forever. But of course,as the sun shone through the window the leaves still turned brown, dying not on the ground but between the pieces of paper. It is their nature, one that cannot be captured but gratefully appreciated. The miraculous cycle of birth, life, death and rebirth could not be contained. It was an important lesson to learn and one each of us, I believe, continues learning with the arrival and departure of seasons. It is a lesson that keeps us humble and,if we allow ourselves, filled with gratitude.

The autumn season has only begun here in Minnesota. There is much time to observe, honor and be present to in the change that is happening around us. But can we capture the beauty and hold it forever? Probably not. But we can kneel down and gives thanks. We can marvel at the ability of unseen forces to take green and turn it into red,yellow,gold, orange. And perhaps, that is our real work.

"The angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal,flowing from the throne of God through the middle of the city. On either side of the river is the tree of life….and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations."  Revelation 22:1-2