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“As long as the earth endures,
seedtime and harvest,
cold and heat,
summer and winter,
day and night,
will never cease.”
Gen. 8:22

When I was a child my Mum told me once, “Dianne remember, the tide keeps coming in and the tide keeps going out, even on the days when it feels as if everything is changing.” I don’t remember exactly what twelve-year-old life crisis had upset me but I do remember these words she shared. Mum’s hope was that they would ground me and provide comfort, and they did … and they still do.

There was much wisdom in her words. They speak of a vital truth of our lives, that we live amongst rhythms. Tides ebb and flow, weeks begin and end, seasons change. I dare say we have been designed to live within this continual flow. I often wonder if, in the hyperspeed lives we live today, we are losing our connection with these rhythms that can be a vital source of comfort, stability and even assurance.

It can be helpful to try to intentionally recognize this sense of rhythm in our lives, and one most of us know well is the one upon us now, the move from summer into fall. This one was shaped in us when we were young and began the annual ritual of returning to school and it has continued in various forms for most of us in the years since.

As you go through this change of seasons this year it might be helpful to take some time to be a bit more intentional about it. Are there things you are looking forward to as we move into fall? Are there parts of life in the fall that bring you comfort or a sense of peace or hope? Although this fall will be different for most of us, I want to encourage you to try to connect with the sense of those old familiar fall rhythms. Let the movement of these next days and weeks do it’s work in you. Can you sense the grounding and assurance that comes as you recognize that familiar flow again this year? The words of this Genesis passage from Genesis are words God spoke to Noah after the flood. They are part of God’s promise to never again destroy living creatures. They are words in which God promises to preserve life and its rich flow. Dear friends these rhythms are an explicit part of God’s promises to us and within them is a sustaining gift of God to us. Today as you pray you may want to ask God to help you to discover that gift in a new way this fall.

May God’s blessing be upon you today.

Dianne