The leaves are changing, more people wear Seahawks gear than
tank tops, and the pumpkin spice latte has once again become our drink of
choice; all these trends tell us one thing; fall is here. And while I love the sunshine, weekend trips,
and ice cream runs that summer brings, I’m excited for the cooler and grayer
fall days. Along with the cooler
weather, fall brings us a chance for lots of fun activities and
excursions. These range from apple
picking with family or friends to enjoying a cup of hot tea on a cold and
cloudy day.
And yet for some of us, all these opportunities don’t bring
us the intended joy, but rather add to our stress and worry. Sure our kids are back in school, but along
with that comes extracurricular activities, like boy scouts, soccer practice,
piano lessons, drama rehearsals, PTA meetings, and various other time consuming
demands. And those are just the week to
week appointments. Add in shopping or
making Halloween costumes, visiting the pumpkin patch, trying to decide where
to spend Thanksgiving, and being reminded by your local department store to get
a head start on your Christmas shopping; it’s no wonder our hair starts graying
prematurely.
In the midst of all this, we’re supposed to make time for
church, youth group, our small group and the potluck after church. Not to mention find time to spend with God
each day in His Word or in prayer or both.
How can we juggle all this along with the normal challenges that come
with raising a family? The answer to
this question does not involve Hermione’s Time Turner from Harry Potter but
rather a tough reality. We can’t have
the perfect fall experience.
Our culture is obsessed with living life to the
fullest. And thanks to social media we
have an outlet to tell the world about just how much fun we’re having. We share our smiling Instagram picture from
the corn maze and two minutes later, our face is lined with worry because we’re
late to the Jack o’lantern carving party.
But what does our culture’s social media quest to portray happiness
really tell us about our lives? It tells
us that we long for joy and a sense of fulfillment and purpose. But what many of us overlook, is that joy
isn’t found in the perfect family outing or using the Valencia filter on
Instagram to highlight it.
Joy is found in communion with God and in the quiet moments
spent with him. In 1 Kings 19, God tells
Elijah to stand on a mountain and wait for the Lord to appear. And God sent a great wind and earthquake and
fire, but God did not appear in any of these rather he spoke to Elijah in a low
whisper. In Psalm 46:10, God says, “Be
still, and know that I am God.”
Instead of planning endless activities this fall, spend time
reading your Bible and ask God to renew and refresh your spirit during this
busy season. And don’t just do this on
your own; use this time as an opportunity to teach your kids that God is the
true source of our joy. Instead of going
to the pumpkin patch for the 3rd time in as many years, spend a day
at home, praying with your family and then relaxing together by playing some
board games. This fall, let’s be more
intentional about creating space and time for God in our lives, and worry less
about creating the perfect family moment. 