Autumn? Yes, please!
I grew up in the Pacific Northwest, where winters look like spring in Minnesota (minus the massive surprise snowstorms) and autumn looks a lot like a Minnesota May. Except with falling leaves and no tulips popping up.
My first Midwestern autumn was in 1993, when I moved to Poplar, Wisconsin, a tiny town east of Superior, Wisconsin, which is just across the St. Louis river from Duluth, Minnesota. (If anyone is now worried that I'm a Packers fan, fear not. Of course, I'm not much of a Vikings fan, either. The only football team I care about is the Oregon Ducks!) I moved to Poplar to live with my parents while I figured out what to do with my life post college. (Did I mention that I'm an Oregon Duck?)
After failed plans and new ideas, I began working at a Bible camp and loved every minute of it. As the summer wound down and I looked forward to Bethel Seminary for the fall, I discovered an even more magical aspect of camp life: autumn. Leaves began to change color, acorns littered the ground, and cool, crisp mornings greeted each new day.
Somewhere in here I met a boy. He was nice. And when I began dating my (now) husband, I asked him what his favorite season was and he said fall. I thought that was a little weird. I mean, yes, fall seemed pretty great, but after a long Minnesota winter, wouldn't spring be better? I imagined bulbs springing up in February from the frozen ground as they did in my hometown. And warm days when you can ditch your coat. And gentle rains that bring out more shades of green that the dictionary even knows exist.
Yes, I still believed in my heart of hearts that spring was better. I couldn't wait for my first Minnesota spring.
And then it came. Spring. In Minnesota.
"Ummm...excuse me? I think my spring is broken. Can I get a new one?"
Freakish snowstorms. Coats until May. Frost on the Rhubarb.
I finally understood: Fall in Minnesota is the best season.
And so I'm excited to usher in autumn. Where apples scent the air, pumpkins dot the fields, the nights are cool but that's expected, and the ice isn't yet nipping at the edges of the lake.
Bring it on, Lord. I can take it.
"Let us fear the Lord our God, who gives the rain in its season, the autumn rain and the spring rain,
and keeps for us the weeks appointed for the harvest." Jeremiah 5:24
My first Midwestern autumn was in 1993, when I moved to Poplar, Wisconsin, a tiny town east of Superior, Wisconsin, which is just across the St. Louis river from Duluth, Minnesota. (If anyone is now worried that I'm a Packers fan, fear not. Of course, I'm not much of a Vikings fan, either. The only football team I care about is the Oregon Ducks!) I moved to Poplar to live with my parents while I figured out what to do with my life post college. (Did I mention that I'm an Oregon Duck?)
After failed plans and new ideas, I began working at a Bible camp and loved every minute of it. As the summer wound down and I looked forward to Bethel Seminary for the fall, I discovered an even more magical aspect of camp life: autumn. Leaves began to change color, acorns littered the ground, and cool, crisp mornings greeted each new day.
Somewhere in here I met a boy. He was nice. And when I began dating my (now) husband, I asked him what his favorite season was and he said fall. I thought that was a little weird. I mean, yes, fall seemed pretty great, but after a long Minnesota winter, wouldn't spring be better? I imagined bulbs springing up in February from the frozen ground as they did in my hometown. And warm days when you can ditch your coat. And gentle rains that bring out more shades of green that the dictionary even knows exist.
Yes, I still believed in my heart of hearts that spring was better. I couldn't wait for my first Minnesota spring.
And then it came. Spring. In Minnesota.
"Ummm...excuse me? I think my spring is broken. Can I get a new one?"
Freakish snowstorms. Coats until May. Frost on the Rhubarb.
I finally understood: Fall in Minnesota is the best season.
And so I'm excited to usher in autumn. Where apples scent the air, pumpkins dot the fields, the nights are cool but that's expected, and the ice isn't yet nipping at the edges of the lake.
Bring it on, Lord. I can take it.
"Let us fear the Lord our God, who gives the rain in its season, the autumn rain and the spring rain,
and keeps for us the weeks appointed for the harvest." Jeremiah 5:24
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