PC: Ruthie Martin

You know what I love most about fall? Curling up in a blanket with a cup of tea in the evening. Don’t get me wrong, I love summertime. It’s sun-shiney, full of campfires, nights on the town with friends, traveling to beaches and cities… But now… the leaves are orange and red. The days are short. The the air is chilly. And fall lends to an increased number of quiet evenings at home. Some days.

With the chilly weather, nothing beats my flannel blanket, a new book, and hot cup of tea. Sigh. Down time.

That said, my job keeps me on the go most of the time this time of the year. I work in sports TV production for a Big Ten team: the Penn State Nittany Lions. The past two months have really been a blur of football games, booking shoots, edits, show builds, directing interns, and emails such as “where is the missing DVD file?” or “why is this video not posted to YouTube yet?”

I love what I do! But still…

As I push through this blur, most days with a smile and an underlying headache, I’ve really had to check myself… Where are my priorities? Who am I relying on?

Seriously. As work as taken over, I feel like I’ve been messing up BIG time in my relationships with both God and people – First, a misunderstanding with a friend of almost a decade led to a hurtful friend breakup. Then, missing Bible Study for the past month because of the heavy workload. And in between, disregarding texts and calls from girlfriends joking that “meh, I don’t need a social life right now.”

So, it was an evening to myself a couple of days ago, when I chose to curl up in that flannel, fall time blanket I mentioned earlier, with a hot cup of tea, when I realized pretty quickly that I’ve been running on spiritual fumes- smiling away the hurts and ignoring the bruises.

Sipping on my mug of tea and pulling the blanket tighter around myself, I finally opened up to the Lord… confessing my actions and questioning others’. Instead of a rebuke, my good, good Father draped His arms of love around me in a whisper and embrace warmer and thicker than any blanket on a chilly fall evening.

His love transcends the ups and downs of life and relationships. Mistakes big or small. Good-byes that don’t make sense. Loneliness despite the busyness. The whole spectrum of emotions that act as guides throughout our days. And the icing of joys and successes in the mix.

He knows all. Sees all. Understands all. And is just WAITING for you and I to fall back into His love and let Him wrap us up in peace and love.

Unlike people who sometimes sprint and other times mosey in and out of your life for a season, be it 1 year or 10 years, God will never leave you nor forsake you. And nothing can separate you from His love, despite what you might feel in any given moment.

So this fall season God is teaching me to stop, confess, and let Him love me as no one else can.

 And that is better than a flannel blanket or cup of tea, on a chilly fall night, could ever be.