Gazing out the back window of our home, I see an ever-thickening blanket of brightly-colored leaves covering our lawn. The leaves are slowly but continuously falling, like light snow flurries. And the grass is gradually disappearing underneath the growing accumulation of red, yellow, orange and brown “flakes.” Obviously, all of this freshly fallen foliage needs to be blown or raked to the curb. But it’s still coming down. And, even though it would be nice to think that I could get rid of it all in one fell swoop, I know this project out of necessity will have to be repeated more than once.As the leaves have fallen, so have the temperatures. I guess that’s why we call this time of year “fall”, although its formal name is autumn. Actually, “fall” has come “late” for us this year…that is, in the sense of falling temperatures and falling leaves. Usually by this time of year all the leaves are down. But because of a warmer-than-usual September and October, the leaves hung on and changed colors late, peaking well into November.
I really love the four seasons we have here in Virginia. During the nearly 12 years that Sandy & I lived in Florida, we really missed the bright vivid colors of autumn as well as the cold starkness of winter & the emerging new life of spring. Although the Sunshine State has its own unique beauty & we certainly enjoyed living there, one does get a little tired of the seemingly endless summer. I like the variety of the four seasons. The seasonal changes seem to enhance the beauty of God’s creation, reminding the beholder of how wonderful it all really is—a truth that all-too-easily might be taken for granted otherwise. The changing seasons also are a colorful illustration of life itself, which has its own seasons of birth, growth, decline and death. The most beautiful aspect of all, however, is the way in which the seasonal cycle points us to the resurrection power of Jesus Christ and the life-changing spiritual renewal that’s always available through Him.
Yes, I love the changing seasons, but there’s still the matter of gathering up all of those loitering leaves now sprawled out on my lawn taking a nap. But I have to say that dealing with them is worth it when you come to realize the whole grand process of which they’re a part. And that’s also the way it is in regard to life in general. For each of us, there are challenges and difficulties that come our way in life. But those challenges are part of a much bigger process in which God is working for our good, to both grow our faith and build our character. When we can see it from that larger perspective, we can better appreciate those times of “leaf raking” we all have to periodically endure in our lives.Well, my little congregation of leaves is still growing religiously with no end in sight. And as I watch yet another lonely leaf gently descend earthward to join his friends below, an old song keeps playing in my head. No it’s not a hymn or a spiritual—sorry to disappoint you. It’s an old Country song—this is going to really date me—from the early 1960s: “Please Help Me, I’m F
alling”, one of the biggest hits of the so-called “golden era” of Country Music. It was sung by the legendary Hank Locklin, who today at age 89 is the oldest living member of the Grand Ole Opry. You may remember the classic love ballad from when it was dusted off and revived a few years back as the soundtrack for a series of Wal-Mart TV commercials. As Hank Locklin crooned in his high tenor voice, “Puh-leez help me I’m faw-haw-lin’ in lu-huv with you,” the television screen depicted images of falling prices at America’s largest retailer.Interestingly, many years ago, not too long after we got married, Sandy and I went to the Grand Ole Opry—we have very eclectic musical tastes—and heard Hank Locklin sing his famous
signature song. Then, several years later, Sandy and I were visiting Nashville on another occasion. My parents and our son Jordan were with us. We ran into Hank Locklin in a restaurant and began talking to him. He sat down at our table with us and conversed for a while. A very nice gentleman. He gave Jordan his autograph—although Jordan (a small boy at the time) couldn’t have cared less and certainly didn’t (and probably still doesn’t) know who this man was. While we sat there talking with the country music legend, he told us that he made a whole lot more money off the Wal-Mart commercials in the 1990s than he did from the song’s original release in 1960. That, in spite of the fact the recording was a huge crossover hit on the pop charts (one of the first) and also did very well in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It just shows you how times have changed in the entertainment industry.
So, as I stand here gazing at all of these lethargic leaves in my yard, postponing the inevitable task at hand, I’m just reminiscing about that old balladeer Hank Locklin. And that classic tune of his just stays stuck in my head. And I suppose it will still be there until the last leaf falls. But that almost sounds like another old country song, doesn’t it? Anybody ever heard of a guy named Freddy Fender?Pastor Danny
