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It’s that time of year when Summer begins to relinquish her hold and Autumn makes her presence known. Falling leaves are indicative of Winter’s forthcoming threat, but before the trees are bare and the days are even shorter and the temps much colder, Fall presents us with a sublime panorama. We, in the Midwest, are at the very early stage of leaf color change. It will be at least sixty-days before most deciduous trees are baren. Eastern America begins this process sooner and is more vibrant due to an abundance of hardwoods. But, enough about nature’s seasonal changes that most of us are familiar with.

These Cottonwood leaves fell into our birdbath during the course of several dry and windy days. I simply arranged them in the center pedestal. They dropped, not because it was Autumn, but due to shedding as a way to survive drought and preserve energy. Once Cottonwoods start to shed leaves, they fall like rain. Fewer green leaves still dance in the wind. Cottonwood leaves look similar to Aspen leaves. Both have white trunks in addition to similar appearing leaves. Cottonwoods grow fast and tall and are most often found near sources of water like streams. They are Kansas’ state tree (fun fact).

As I witnessed these leaves fall and will soon witness many more, I was drawn to the thought that people are a lot like falling leaves. From birth until death we fall many, many times. Whether the falls are a result of circumstances beyond our control or are caused by our own missteps, human frailty dictates we will fall. Some falls result in nothing more than bruises to our egos while others are very serious and result in permanent damage or loss. Falling leaves, we are.

As with healthy trees, the leaves will return, emerging from winter’s slumber. Unhealthy trees may not see a return of their leaves…much like some of us. To fall is not such a bad thing. In fact, falling is necessary to growth, and wellness. The key, like that of trees, is to get up (grow back) after we fall. It doesn’t matter how hard or how far we fall; what matters is what happens after we do. I know post this sounds a lot like a ‘self-help’ mantra which is definitely not my purpose. Rather, I write to encourage without offering advice.

I have fallen so many times and in so many ways that defy my getting back up each time. This is not a “Look at how awesome I am” statement, but the truth. Only by the grace of a loving God do I owe my existence. Mostly, I recall the reasons I have fallen, and can candidly say that many of those times were not my fault…but enough of them were. And, I take ownership of those events. As for the falls which were the result of others, I try to learn from those experiences and not repeat the same behaviors of the quilty parties. I have forgiven. I learned a long time ago a very essential truth: forgiveness benefits the forgiver and is critical to moving forward, even if the forgiven don’t respond in like manner. Sometimes the ‘moving forward’ has been a crawl, and occasionally a sprint, but was usually a marathon effort (I have never run a marathon but felt like I have!).

This image is dull…much like our lives seem to be. I could have enhanced it but chose not to. I didn’t see the benefit of changing something as it is into something that it is not…not after writing this post. Certainly, there are many photographs I adjust to make them seem more alive, but not this one. I wanted to present these fallen leaves just as they are, dull and slowly decomposing. Hollywood, tabloids, social media sites, news, government, etc. may offer us loads of pizzazz, but that’s all fake. Falling and fallen leaves are real.