When in Fall - Ausdin Lemmons

Fall is here. It’s hard to believe we're in the 9th month of the year already! Megan and I have lived in Oregon for 3 years now, and it's truly is my favorite season here. We moved in July of 2020 and everyone said, "just wait for the Fall it's the best time of the year." Unfortunately, that year was rare, and there were so many forest fires we didn’t get a true Oregon Fall. But the next year I got to experience all the amazing things that make Fall in the Northwest incredible!

My favorite thing is all the different colors of pumpkins, having lived in both Alaska and California I had never experienced such a vast variety of pumpkins before. I had no idea pumpkins came in so many colors: blue, beige, yellow, and so many more! Honestly, I went a little crazy creating our pumpkin patch on the porch that year. I was on the hunt to collect every type of pumpkin there was, and I think I did it. It made me realize that while I had experienced the season of Fall before, it felt very new that year. It was different. It was beautiful in a new way.

Sadly, in that same year, Megan and I experienced many losses in our family. In the beginning of the grief, it felt familiar, it was a season I had experienced earlier in my life, so I expected it to be the same. Almost like I was saying to myself, "I've got this. I've been here before." Kind of like my preconceived notions about having an Oregon Fall.

But as the weight of the sorrow started to overwhelm me, I felt God’s peace and presence call me to be still and lean in to these emotions in new ways. To experience grief in a new way. That though I’ve been here before, there is something new God was teaching me in that season. I recognized that just because He’s healed and restored my life one way before, there may be new ways He wanted to do it this time.

So maybe for you, you’ve begun your usual Fall rhythms. Got your pumpkin spice latte, kids back into school, your favorite shows are coming back... You’ve been here before, you know what to do. But I'd like to challenge you in this season. Although it's comfortable to fall back into a routine, I believe there’s something new and fresh God is calling you towards, or to be aware of. So for this season, in the routine and the hustle, be conscious about finding moments to be still and see what new things God is teaching you.

God does beautiful things in new seasons:

Isaiah 43: 18- 19 “But forget all that—it is nothing compared to what I am going to do. For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland."

Ephesians 4:21-24 "Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy."

Psalm 51:10 "Create in me a clean heart, O God.Renew a loyal spirit within me."

God bless, and let’s Fall y’all!

Ausdin Lemmons
Worship Pastor | Hope City Church