Enchanted

There is something so magical about the arrival of fall. The crispness of the air, the cool breeze, the leaves and pumpkins, the colors of nature, the coziness of it all. No other season quite rivals it - sure summer is wonderful with the beach and sun-kissed skin; and the delight of a snowy Christmas (so I hear, I live in Texas); and the life that spring brings. But fall... it's enchanting! It's my season, I guess.

I so vividly remember the first time I was so taken in by autumn. I was around ten; I ran outside to play with kids in my neighborhood. The feel and the smell of the cool breeze mixed with the joys of childhood just about knocked me over right there on our back steps. It's one of those frozen moments in time for me.  

As I get older, it only gets better: coffee, boots, scarves and pumpkin muffins are fun signs of the season. Even more wonderfully, the  two best things in my life have happened in the fall - my engagement to my loving husband and finding out that my Emmet was on his way!

In The Sacred Romance (by Brent Curtis and John Eldridge) they discuss the different ways God romances our hearts throughout our lives:
"Something calls to us through experiences like these and rouses an inconsolable longing deep within our heart, wakening in us a yearning for intimacy, beauty and adventure. This longing is the most powerful part of any human personality. It fuels our search for wholeness, for a sense of being truly alive. However we may describe this deep desire, it is the most important thing about us, our heart of hearts, the passion of our life. And the voice that calls to us in this place is none other than the voice of God."

That is what fall reminds me; God is romancing me. He loves me just as I am... here and now. So every year, he kisses the earth with the magic of fall to say, "Shauna, remember! Remember how much I love you! I made you all this, and it is nothing compared to what I have in store!"

I hope you are enchanted, too.