Please join with me in the spirit of meditation and prayer.

We know the leaves are dying. We know that their blaze of beauty is a preparation for death. It is a time when we appreciate the effort of nature to rise above the ordinariness of life and death. It is a time when we visibly comprehend glory and wonder. And we worship with thanks.

We feel now that the air is cold and crisp. We feel now a clearing from the skies of the heaviness of the hazes of summer. It is a time when we appreciate the crispness and sharpness of the realities of life and death. It is a time when we physically comprehend the relief that clarity and insight can bring. And we worship with thanks.

We hear now the dry rustle of plants and grasses. We hear now a crackling from the earth that tells of the withering of the fullness of life. It is a time when we appreciate approaching rest from the frantic fullness. It is a time when we hear a different voice within, and know that life is settling down for a well deserved wintering.

Let it be so within each of our lives as we prepare for an autumn in our own life cycle. For we all need rest and respite if we are to understand and appreciate the rhythm of life in our soul that enables us to worship with thanks.