Fall is a time for change

One of my favorite seasons is quickly approaching-- the fall season. Fall brings so many wonderful aromas and colorful tree leaves, fun events such as county and state fairs along with fair food, Deutschesfest, apple cider, homemade apple strudel, and sporting events like football and volleyball. This is also a time of season when things start to change. The weather gets cooler, tree leaves start to change in color and begin to fall from their branches. We put away the shorts and t-shirts and don our warmer outerwear. Typically, more oven made meals or crockpot meals are prepared during the cooler months rather than grilling. It’s the time of the season to prepare, and we see this happening all around us. As nature begins to prepare for the cooler season ahead, the grass begins to go dormant. Animals begin to prepare for the approaching inclement weather by gathering material for their nests and storing food to last through the winter months until spring. We know the season is about to change. Are we preparing ourselves for the fall season? Are we readying ourselves just as nature is getting ready? Changes begin to happen with the fall season. However, change is something many of us cringe at when we hear the word “change.” In all reality, change happens no matter the timing of the year. Preparing for whatever lies ahead is always a crucial thing to do. We prepare for these changes without really second guessing that we are even making the changes. Why is it so difficult for us to prepare for the coming of Christ? It’s going to happen no matter what “man” has to say or do about it. A change is coming so profound that many will just simply choose to ignore or deny or follow or accept this coming. However, it is prudent and wise to prepare and make ready for the coming of Christ. This doesn’t mean standing around and looking up at the clouds and just waiting. In Acts 1:11, two angels appeared to the disciples as they watched a cloud ascend Jesus to the heavens and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.” It seems as if the angels are saying there is much to be done; remember His Words and Go. Let us not just stand around but prepare by reading the Word of God, going to Church, attending Bible studies, allowing our children and ourselves the time to attend Sunday school. When we make these changes that should be as natural as our other changes through the seasons, it allows us to be prepared and ready for the coming of Christ. We need not be surprised or cringe when THE CHANGE is at our doorstep. Go in peace my friends, in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord.

— Your brother in Christ,

Pastor Travis Powers

Christ Lutheran Church

Odessa, Washington