Letting Go

Our decision to go to Arkansas last week included a faint hope that we might experience the last vestiges of autumn color. Actually there were more leaves and color in Independence than northwest AR. One of prettiest trees whose leaves continue to cling is just outside Watson Memorial Chapel at CUMC. It is a lovely oak with yellow leaves which seem to resist the wind of seasonal change and hang on for dear life.
Several years ago I stopped for a sandwich in Sedalia, MO. While eating and making a couple of calls I was looking across the street at a gorgeous maple tree with magnficent red leaves.  To my amazement the leaves began to fall ... first a few ... then as if by agreement ... nearly all the leaves floated to the lawn creating an amazing crimson carpet. There was no strong wind. There was simple gracious release.
I visited with someone recently who prayed for just such a simple gracious release from this life.
O Lord, I seek the strength to cling tenaciously to your way and will along with the grace to let go and follow the flow of your Spirit from one season to the next. Amen.