This is shedding season. Every fall and spring I find tuffs of hair around the floor for a few weeks while Baxter grows a new fur coat for the winter or summer ahead. This time it's a thicker and heavier coat for the cold weather to come. Fall is a time to lose something to be better prepared for what lies ahead. Look at nature in general. The leaves are losing their green color. The trees will lose their leaves. The sap runs into the roots. Nature is preparing for the cold by releasing its hold on what has served its purpose well in the warm days of summer, but will soon be out of season as life moves on.
What do we need to shed as we face this new time of the year? We also wear coats to keep us warm and to add to our fashionable look. They are the roles we take on as part of our place in the world. Are they the right ones for the season of our lives? We might still want to be light and care-free like the days of our youth, but now we have responsibilities for others, and we cannot ignore them. On the other hand, we might be beyond the responsibilities of parenthood and wage earner, and we have to learn how to find joy in life with a different contribution to make to others' lives. We may no longer be the care-giver or provider, but we bring other gifts-- the wisdom of patience, the joy of caring for the young without the burden of disciplining them, the freedom to appreciate a quiet moment, a long walk or a good book or hobby. As life changes we shed some roles to take on others, and if we do so graciously, without resenting what we are losing, in the full circle of life's seasons, we come to see how God works.
Before the trees shed their leaves, they first change color. From green to gold, red, or orange and then brown, they reveal a hidden beauty before they die and fall to the ground. Shedding doesn't have to be ugly or sad. It can be peaceful and yet exhilarating. There is nothing like a brisk, bright fall day to inspire our admiration for God's hand in painting nature's beauty. Can we see that same hand in ourselves and others as the seasons pass? If we only stare at the clumps that we have lost with the shedding, we will never see the colors of our new coat for a new season.
Baxter's hair will get thicker after a few weeks of loss. He will groom himself, and I will help with a few vigorous brushings while he goes through this period. We both may have a hairball or two to deal with along the way. But finally, he will be ready for winter and look good in a fine, new coat. The same is possible for us as we move through the seasons of our lives. Don't fight the changes life brings to us all. Learn how to wear them stylishly but without conceit. They are part of the many looks God gives us, until we finally see our whole life dressed for the final season when we live with Him forever.
