Fall has always been my favorite season. Maybe it’s the beautiful colors that appear in the world around us; maybe it’s the warm and comfy fashion. Maybe it’s because my birthday is this time of year. But for whatever reason, this season has always held a certain joy for me.
In a lot of ways, fall is a contradictory season. We start so many things in the fall— new school years, new seasons of television shows— and yet fall is caused by endings. F. Scott Fitzgerald said that “life starts all over again” in the fall, but really, things don’t restart until spring. This season is the beginning of an ending, and the next beginning is months away. And yet it always feels like something new is stirring, doesn’t it? It truly feels like life has the chance to begin again this time of year.
Whether your fall is full of beginnings or endings, I think most people can agree that fall is a season of change. Personally, this fall has been filled with more changes than most. After graduating with my master’s in the spring, this fall has meant finally getting to start my teaching job, finally being settled in my new place, finally being in that next phase of life that refused to truly start over the summer months. However, now that everything is in motion, I’m also forced to acknowledge some endings: I’m no longer a student; I no longer live near many of my friends.
It’s easy to feel anxious in the midst of so much change. I certainly have! Sometimes it creeps up on you— you haven’t noticed how much is bubbling beneath the surface and then suddenly, you’re falling apart. You’re like one of those autumn leaves, stuck on a breeze that might take you somewhere you don’t want to go. Falling, falling, falling toward the ground.
In these moments, it’s important to remember the one thing in our lives that never changes: God. No matter what happens, He is there. No matter what changes, He still loves us. No matter what begins or ends, He remains the same.
I’ve often taken comfort in this verse: “God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?” (Num. 23:19 ESV).
Sometimes, it’s really hard to understand things about God because He is so different from us. His knowledge of what it means to be perfect and good and loving is often miles away from what our sinful minds want to believe. But this is an instance where the differences between God and us are magnificent. Unlike us, who can’t help but change our minds and break promises and fall through, God never waivers. He never goes back on a decision.
And that includes His decision to love you.
Nothing can change it, not even you. God never changes His mind— He doesn’t have to! Because He doesn’t make mistakes. And once again, that includes His decision to love you.
So, in the midst of whatever change you’re experiencing this crisp, beautiful fall, remember God. Remember His sameness, His consistency. Remember His love for you. Know that you can always lean on it. And remember that we often need to lean on it much more often than we think to do so.