The other day, I saw someone share this quote on social media: “The trees are about to show us how lovely it is to let things go.”

As autumn approaches, I’ve been thinking about that. What are the things that would be lovely to let go?

Perhaps we can let go of the notion that life was supposed to be “back to normal” by now, or that we can turn back the clock on the fifty years of cultural change that have caused our churches and institutions to waver, or even that a difficult personal relationship can be different from what it is.

It reminds me of Matthew’s gospel, in which Jesus asks us to remember the lilies of the field. They neither toil nor spin, he says, but are clothed with more beauty than Solomon in all his splendor. He follows this with a simple command: “Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own”—a charge much easier said than done, I confess!

But perhaps, as autumn approaches (at least here in Minnesota!), we can reimagine Jesus’ words in the context of what is about to happen before our eyes: the leaves turn bright and fall to the ground as a reminder that even in transition, there is beauty; that God is at work in every changing season, urging us to let go of what has happened, in order to embrace what is here.

And so this season, whatever longings and losses you’re sitting with, may Jesus’ words and the autumn leaves be with you as a witness to the faithfulness and constant presence of God’s unfailing love.

In Christ,

Robin J. Steinke, President

Luther Seminary