These Days of Awe have been refreshing for me... and thought-provoking. As I've been reading more about the Jewish traditions for this month, I've been increasingly fascinated. For this particular 10-day period, the focus was on both awe and repentance. I guess this combination makes sense... as I begin to be awed by what a holy God He is, I can't help but see how short I fall of His glory, and that should bring me to my knees. I started wondering why God chose this particular season, the beginning of Fall, for this time of Awe and Repentance, and for what has become the beginning of the civil year/New Year. At first, Fall seemed to me to be a strange time to have these high holy days, but the more I process, the more it kind of seems right.
With all that is changing outside right now, it is certainly not hard to be awed. As we were taking out our Fall decorations the other day, Rayna, with all the enthusiasm that she alone can muster, asked, "We're starting a NEW Fall?!?" Strider is less surprised, but more impressed I think this year, to realize how predictable the seasons are year after year, and what a cool cycle it all makes.
And living in a house with a 2-year old who is experiencing his first year of "season-awareness," well, it is hard to not join in his awe. As we went for our walk yesterday, he was full of wonder, and questions of course.
"All the leaves are going to turn colors? Some of the leaves aren't colors now?"
"And then they're going to fall off the trees??? We won't have any trees anymore?"
"Will they turn purple, too?"
"And will the green roof on the clock tower building also turn a different color?"
I love how magical it all seems to him!
The last few days I've been taking the camera outside and we all (well, not Milo) have been taking turns finding things that we think are "awesome" in the yard... Here are some of the results. Even though our camera is cheap and we are certainly amateur photographers, still the awesomeness shines through:
With all that is changing outside right now, it is certainly not hard to be awed. As we were taking out our Fall decorations the other day, Rayna, with all the enthusiasm that she alone can muster, asked, "We're starting a NEW Fall?!?" Strider is less surprised, but more impressed I think this year, to realize how predictable the seasons are year after year, and what a cool cycle it all makes.
And living in a house with a 2-year old who is experiencing his first year of "season-awareness," well, it is hard to not join in his awe. As we went for our walk yesterday, he was full of wonder, and questions of course.
"All the leaves are going to turn colors? Some of the leaves aren't colors now?"
"And then they're going to fall off the trees??? We won't have any trees anymore?"
"Will they turn purple, too?"
"And will the green roof on the clock tower building also turn a different color?"
I love how magical it all seems to him!
The last few days I've been taking the camera outside and we all (well, not Milo) have been taking turns finding things that we think are "awesome" in the yard... Here are some of the results. Even though our camera is cheap and we are certainly amateur photographers, still the awesomeness shines through:
The colors, textures, changes, and vibrancy of the Fall all combine for an effect that makes it easy to be in Awe... and the fact that everything is blazing on its way to death is striking as well. If God wanted the New Year to begin with the season of dying, is that a reflection of how new Life begins with repentance first?What striking things to think about... and practice.
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