As I strolled at a local park, I paused to absorb sights and sounds, inhaling earthy scents of leaves crunching beneath my feet and welcoming the sun’s warmth as it mingled with the bite of the northern breeze. The tree-lover in me admired the beauty of bare branches stretching skyward. At one point I noticed a lone leaf fluttering gently on one of the towering oaks. Unlike other leaves which, together, already blanketed the dusty ground, this one seemed unwilling to let go of its tree. Or, I wondered, was it the tree that was slow in setting the leaf free?
Where I live, summer seems to creep beyond its official ending, making fall feel as if it comes and goes too quickly. I sense days begin to shorten, winds shift, temperatures dip, and colors fade as nature gradually goes dormant. While I observe this process year after year, I’m never quite ready for the change. Like the tree in the park that day, I too, sometimes struggle to let go.
The writer of Ecclesiastes tells us that “To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven:” (3:1, NKJV). Though the passage is familiar, what I’ve often overlooked is the comforting reminder that all that happens in life, happens “under heaven” (3:1b, italics mine). The One who spoke light into the darkness, created all that exists in all of nature, is sovereign over every day and detail of our lives—every season’s beginning, and ending.
It took some time for me to finally release those good friendships that gradually fade—to realize that they were just for a season. Have you, too, ever sensed the Spirit telling you it’s okay to—time to—let go?
I did some digging to discover what goes on within some species of trees as autumn approaches. I didn’t know that shifts in temperature and daylight cause a chemical process which actually pushes each leaf off of its branch. What looks like an ending of sorts actually helps the tree to conserve water, enabling it to weather wintry months of frigid air and frozen ground. As leaves are released, branches become lighter—able to withstand the weight of ice or snow. Letting go helps a tree to keep going—not just to survive winter’s elements, but to thrive in seasons thereafter.
The sprouting that happens in spring—each tiny new bud along branches—means that something had to end. And I believe that when God nudges us to do so, He doesn’t leave us empty-handed. Loosening our grip can allow us room to receive and take hold of what He has for us right now—what He sovereignly knows will keep us going and growing.
I’m grateful for beautiful friendships that continue, and for new ones that the Lord has brought my life. I will embrace them all with joy, for as long as seasons last.
As change comes may we lean fully into the One who formed us. May we be willing, when it’s time, to let the page turn to a new chapter. May we cling to our loving Father who has a plan “to give [us] a future and a hope” (Jeremiah 29:11). May we know that in all of our letting go, He never lets go of us.
For reflection:
1. More recently, I’m learning there are other things I need to release. Is there anything He is currently nudging you to let go of?
2. Take some time to read or meditate on Psalm 139:16 and/or Jeremiah 29:11. How do these truths encourage you today?
