The lesson in leaves
Dead or alive, they’re beautiful.
Swamp white oak trees frame Freedom Tower.
As a transplant to Florida, the season I miss most is Fall. I’m fascinated by the images of leaves sent from cool-weather family and friends that turn a brilliant hue before they continue to demand our attention on the ground. It was the classic book, The Fall of Freddie the Leaf, by author Leo Busgalia that first transformed my appreciation for the symbolism of leaves and how they have much to teach us about life—and death. I loved that Freddie watched as his “friends” fell one by one to the ground, some after lashing back at the wind, while others simply let go. But the a-ha moment for me was when Freddie himself fell softly to the ground and for the first time, he saw the whole tree. I imagined our Christian homecoming when we will see God face to face and look back at the seasons of our lives and see not only how purposeful each one was, but the magnitude of all creation connected by a source that never dies.
My sister Becky was visiting the 9/11 Memorial in New York City with her family last week and sent me the photo of the cluster of swamp white oak tree leaves that had fallen all around Memorial Plaza. You can look at them and just see dead leaves or you can see the different shapes and sizes; some still wide open and others curled up as if in agony before they fell. What struck me was the brilliant white of some of them against those that retained their decaying color. It reminded me of a painting my sister Deb had created of our dad as he was dying and the portions of him that she painted white. When I asked her about it, she said God’s brilliance within Dad during that time was so evident that it resembled the light of Christ as he was being transfigured. His body which appeared in weakness and dishonor, now appeared in honor and glory (1 Corinthians 15:43). His clothes became white and glistening as the light.
It must have been true for that slice of humanity that met their fateful death that horrific day in New York City. Some surely gripped with a harrowing fear beyond any ability to grasp what was happening. And others whose faith allowed the light of Christ to shine through them as they surrendered their terror to a greater good.
May the leaves around you this season of change give you pause to remember those before us, and to give thanks for God’s work in all seasons of our lives.