Do you have a favorite season? It’s hard to choose, isn’t it?
Beginning with the first bud on a crocus— Nature’s inciting event—she announces the arrival of Spring and builds her narrative like a well-written plot. The daffodils join the story, popping their yellow heads and beckoning the tulips to follow. The camellia blooms explode all over the bush.
Summer flowers arrive. Roses, gardenia, and marigolds take their turn on the warm, breezy landscape. Dahlias arrive late but stay long as summer slides into Autumn, where we are now.
Autumn signals the approaching close of a calendar year. We’ve reached the climax. A kaleidoscope of color honors the year’s end. The magical tones of red, gold and brown leaves brighten the landscape like a fine carpet in an elite hotel. The curtain call has begun. The story has reached its peak. The year will finish in a triumphal exit.
Nature is slowing down—getting ready to sleep. In a few short months the beautiful world that has entertained us since the end of February will be covered in frost and snow, drenched with downpours. Naked trees will stand emptied of their leaves, devoid of scrambling squirrels, and left silent of birdsong.
It’s time to rest. Rejuvenate. Refill your inner reserves. Though one set of seasons is about to end, another set is poised to appear. Prepare yourself.
Ecclesiastes 3 teaches us there is a season for everything and a season for every activity under the heavens. Having Spring follow Winter, and Summer precede Autumn is a natural consequence of a well ordered world. Only our Creator, the almighty God of the universe, could have orchestrated such precision. Only He could have ordained such beauty that accompanies each seasonal change.
As a writer, I’m affected by the passing seasons, too. I take time in Autumn to gather my books and make plans to catch up on reading what other writers have written. Immersing myself in another genre, I am pulled out of my comfort zone and exposed to new settings and different phrase structures. I meet new imaginary characters who speak from the pages. My mind is jolted out of its prearranged patterns and allowed to experiment with different words and ways of thinking.
I once had a writing conference teacher instruct our class to pick an author and, using a pen, copy an entire page of that writer’s story. The exercise changed us. We were forced to physically imitate the author we had chosen. It was like resetting our brain.
That’s what Autumn does.
We slow down, gather our thoughts, and prepare for the coming sleep of winter. The change in weather, which in turn forces us to adjust our environment, causes us to recharge. When by some miraculous transformation winter finishes its task, Spring comes around and the entire cycle begins again.
Just like the climax in a good book, Autumn has arrived, both in the story and in our world, following the pattern of a well-written plot. Winter closes the tale and teases us. Wait for the sequel. It will be out in the Spring.
Patricia (Pat) Lee has had a fascination with words and what they can do since she wrote her first short paragraph at the age of six. She doesn’t remember the content of her story, but her teacher became excited at what she’d done. “Obviously,” Pat says, “words made people happy.”
Pat worked as a stringer for a local newspaper during her middle and high school years representing the school’s news to the community. She received her B.A. in Journalism from the University of Oregon, then went on to work as a tabloid newspaper editor at her local church.
After she married, she began her freelancing career and sold to various publications, including Expecting, Moody Monthly, and Power for Living. More recently she has published in two anthologies, Cup of Comfort Bible Promises and Heavenly Company, as well as featured articles in Focus on the Family’s Clubhouse Magazine. An Anchor On Her Heart, her debut novel, released in July, 2017. Love Calls Her Home, A Kite on the Wind, Love’s Autumn Harvest, and In Search of Forever followed.
Pat lives were her husband in the Pacific Northwest. They have two grown children. She is a member of Oregon Christian Writers (OCW) and American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW).
Can they bridge the long gap in their friendship?
Growing up, Jayden Clarke dreamed of becoming a Marine like his late father, who was killed in Afghanistan when Jayden was nine. His foster dad, Kurt, was also a decorated soldier. But his own encounter with a narrowly missed IED in Afghanistan leaves Jayden wounded and honorably discharged. He returns home defeated, his dream destroyed, not certain what his future will hold. Who will he become now? Is there anyone he can turn to?
Two years out of college, Baylie Summers has returned to the Mueller Rescue ranch where her best friend Jayden Clarke once lived as a foster teen. She hasn’t seen him since they graduated six years ago, but she’s thrilled when she lands the job as the ranch’s fundraising newsletter writer. Seeking refuge from the storms of life, Baylie waits for Jayden to return home, hoping he’ll have wisdom to help her recover from past incidents she wants to forget. Once a foster child herself, she fears Jayden might not like the woman she’s become. Will telling her secret make her lose Jayden forever?
