2022-07-25

This beautifully crafted phrase reminds us that autumn is a time of mild temperatures, as the heat of summer has passed and the chill of winter has come; that winter, unlike autumn, is often harsh, frigid and filled with dangerous, unpleasant storms. However, autumn is the season of harvest, and often of plenty, offering milder temperatures than the cruel cold of winter. We can enjoy the pleasures to the senses that are painted in autumn colors and we can use those same senses to connect the characteristics of autumn with the “year’s last, loveliest smile.”

Crowds of beach-goers are thinning, boats are being pulled and the focus turns to preparations for the fall. School is back in session, sports activities begin and people shift their mindset from summer to fall schedules. For many, life is starting all over again and this season is a great opportunity to begin again. This quote from F. Scott Fitzgerald reminds us that the fall is a wonderful season of renewal; the change in season can bring a change in focus. Who doesn’t want the chance to press the reset button?

With misty morning and smooth winds rustling the loose leaves from their trees, autumn means many things for those embrace the trees and falling foliage that surrounds them. We know that summer is finally over, and we get to enjoy the radiant colors of fall, particularly the gold leaves that make the season so warm and inviting. Gold can also be understood in the figurative sense with the color representing a plethora of golden opportunities that the other seasons don’t afford us.

Goodbye summer, hello autumn! While summer has its wonderful qualities and advantages, fall has its own special qualities and advantages that can’t be rivaled, not even by a season like summer if it wanted to. No, many of us don’t want summer’s sunny, sandy and leisurely days to end, but the unique qualities that fall offers can’t be competed with. Autumn paints in colors that summer has never seen. The “harmony in autumn” and “the luster in the sky” referenced in this quote is something that only this season offers.

Fall is one of the most stunning seasons. Autumn connects us with nature. It is the season when energy settles into the earth and almost everything in nature has a unique beauty to it. The leaves are once again incredible. The glorious fall foliage can make you feel like you’re blessed to be a part of this world. As Maynard notes in this quote, fall is a season that appears to have been created by God just for the beauty of it. This season reminds us how wonderful God’s creations really are and how wonderful it is to experience it.

During spring, the colors are changing from brown to green everywhere you look around you. During fall, the colors are changing from green, to orange, gold and red everywhere you look around you. In a figurative sense, spring represents new beginnings, it’s the season that represents becoming unstuck and moving forward. Fall also represents what spring does – we have the opportunity to start over and begin again. Just as spring represents transformation, fall also represents transformation. The only difference between the two seasons is an abundance of flowers and the falling of leaves.

6 Ways Angels Are Working for You
God’s heavenly messengers are working on your behalf! Read next feature >
More from beliefnet and our partners