True Colors
People flock to see them in the fall: AUTUMN LEAVES. In your backyard maybe. Or across this region of the country. Hot spots include the New England area, and the Great Smoky Mountains, vibrant with the fall hues. And I love every minute of this fleeting season.
Quick science lesson in case you forgot why this even happens (besides “it’s fall, that’s why”): it starts with trees and photosynthesis. Leaves have their vivid green from spring through summer into early fall because of chlorophyll which feeds the trees. In fall, the trees start to go dormant for the winter. The leaves change color. The bright golds, reds, yellows, and browns that we see in the fall would be the natural colors seen year round if it weren’t for this chlorophyll. But we see those colors in the fall because chlorophyll slows down and stops, eventually giving way to the ‘true’ color of the leaf. (Never have I thought I would type the word ‘chlorophyll’ so many times in one afternoon.)
Something that stood out to me this time as I contemplated this science lesson from my grade school years: in the fall, we see the true colors of the leaves on the trees.
True colors. If you are close to me in age, a certain 1980s sappy song from Cindy Lauper might come to mind. True colors is also something we might show to those really close to us during seasons of….trials or change. Like the trees in the fall. Some true colors are stunning. Others can stunt our ability to productively move forward. Or maybe we look at it like this: when things happen as they do, what true colors do others see in us? Do they see vibrant beauty coming alive? Or something withered and torn in need of repair?
I think we all want and hope it to be colorful vibrant beauty.
Maybe I am pulling at an analogy that isn’t there. Or maybe I’m a little on to something (the interesting thinkings of an overthinking rule following people pleaser). Either way, I ADORE this time of the year outside. The crisp fall air. The leaves on the trees, showing their TRUE colors. The bright sky on an autumn afternoon.
“Burst into song, you mountains, you forests, and all your trees, for the LORD has redeemed …..and glorified himself.” -Isaiah 44:23
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