This was last Tuesday. Today I rode dirt roads again, soaking up the last bit of summer before the autumnal equinox tomorrow.
For the last several Sundays, my pastor Rindy has been preaching on change. It all came out of a conversation she had with our youth group as she led them on a mission trip early in the summer. One of the teenagers asked why things have to change so much. Rindy has been preaching about the reality that although life is always changing - as it always has - God is always with us, and God's love never changes. Therefore, we have no reason to be afraid.
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. - Hebrews 13:8
In the modern theology of Rush in their song "Tom Sawyer":
He knows changes aren't permanent, but change is.
In recent years I have made a concerted effort to appreciate the beauty of each month and each season. May and June may be my favorites, but what a delight to smell kudzu blossoms in late summer, notice the increasing slant of sunlight as fall proceeds, hear the upland chorus frogs and spring peepers in mid to late winter, and see the redbuds in bloom as spring approaches.
On my way home from work today, I stopped at a pick-your-own muscadine farm a few miles from my commute route. It was my second picking of the season - the last one, too, because the farm will close for the year this Sunday. With their musky fragrance and taste, muscadines are the epitome of late summer. They give me something to look forward to even as I have to say goodbye to my favorite season.
Because of muscadine picking, today's ride was a little later than last Tuesday. I put front and rear lights on my cyclocross bike before heading out. I rode on the cusp of daylight/dark and summer/fall. Truly, it was a time of transition and a uniquely beautiful moment. I delighted in the crepuscular creatures I often see on my twilight rides: deer, rabbits, and bats. They reminded me to live in and rejoice in the present moment.
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