I love autumn colors! I wait for them every year. In fact, autumn is my favorite time of year (next to Christmas celebrations). Incredible displays of color, the crisp, magical feel in the air, the cheer that rises. Gorgeous skies. Backyard firepits, s’mores, and hotdogs. Pulling out the warm, cozy sweaters. Yet, even as I enjoy the splashes of color that cheer the world, and as I indulge in the entire experience, the colors remind me of something else. It’s something that helps me, but it’s also rather sobering. It challenges me, too. And it all has to do with true colors.
(Your area of the world may have already finished autumn colors, and you may have snow! Perhaps your area of the globe is warm year around. The lessons of true colors are still applicable to every person!)
Before getting into today’s content, would you like to see some community colors? The trees on a walk through my neighborhood are majestic and beautiful. They give so much joy and draw my heart to the Creator. Notice the gorgeous colors against the moody fall skies. Some of the trees look like a paintbrush that an artist dipped outer edges into bright colors.
Every autumn, I’m in awe at what is beneath (inside) the cloak of green over the leaves. As I consider this, I become pensive about my life, asking myself good questions and pondering my own changing seasons. Here’s a peek into my head during those times:
Let’s back-it-up into summer for starters. All summer we enjoy the living green around us. Deep, rich, vibrant shades and hues of green compliment each other. A beautiful emerald sea. It feels comfortable. Add all the gorgeous blooms and fruits of gardens, the soft coo of mourning doves, and the cheery music of songbirds. Then add the hum of grasshoppers and buzz of bees. Maybe the smell of freshly cut grass. Finish this landscape with a glass of ice tea, sun glasses, and a good book.
But summer days shorten. Crisp air crawls over the earth, and a thin veneer of frost lingers each day until sun rays melt it away mid-morning. Unannounced, quietly, ever-so-slightly the show of true colors begins. Green slowly retreats. True colors give a “first peek” as fall gently nudges summer to the side. A new beauty emerges.
As a child, I remember learning that chlorophyll pulls inward from the outer parts of a tree into the center during winter. As a result, colors that were hidden when chlorophyll was present are then seen. In other words, you see the leaf’s true colors. How interesting. The green was a sort of covering. A temporary cloak. Even a kind of blanket.
Every year this transformation from deep, rich green to colorful fall displays is an opportunity to see what is actually there in the absence of chlorophyll. And it’s a reminder to thoughtfully look at your own true colors. WhatR
