As the temperatures begin their annual fall to cooler levels, and leaves discover their autumnal colors of rust, red, yellow, brown, and orange, we stand in awe of this transition with a slight tinge of sadness. Awe because the bursts of color are so astonishing, and sorrow because it signals the end of another life cycle.

The splash of fall colors mixing with specs of brilliant sunshine show God’s grandeur, but subtly reminding us that our life journey is taking us to the seat of glory, God himself. I can hear my mother saying, “Don’t forget we are here to get to there.”  She used her finger properly pointing down for here and up for there.

A Greek philosopher said it another way: “Life is fleeting.” So do not waste time. And he was not referring to life’s length, but rather how well we lived each year. As Christians, we face life with faith and hope. We recall that Jesus died to save us, and his death and resurrection gained our entrance into heaven. Therefore, our eternal life is taken care of because Jesus opened heaven for all who want it.

That is true. Almost! Before we leave this life, Jesus wants us to live his message in each existing present moment. Doing the right thing is living the present moment on God’s side. If we keep doing this right up to our last present moment, God will welcome us with open arms. Why? Because we listened to his son’s words and tried our best to live them – God’s dream for each of his creation.

With its assortment of amazing colors, autumn is simply a preview of the magnificence of our pending reward. Each blazing color tells us as Richard Rohr wrote: “God makes us who and what we are and then gives us to ourselves as a gift, saying— ‘It’s yours, do something great and powerful with me.’”

Hope-filled, we take each present moment, and try to do just that. We open ourselves to God’s gift of grace, believing if God made something from nothing once, he could do it again and with anyone he chooses. God is always willing; it is we who hold back. St. Paul writes, “God did not destine us for wrath, but to gain salvation.”

President Biden once said: “It’s not who you think you are that holds you back, but who you are not.”  Before Biden made his remarks, President Obama spoke these inspiring words of hope, eulogizing Vice-President Biden’s son Beau:

We do not know how long we’ve got here. We don’t know when fate will intervene. We cannot discern God’s plan. What we do know is that with every minute that we’ve got, we can live our lives in a way that takes nothing for granted. We can love deeply. We can help people who need help. We can teach our children what matters. We can pass on empathy and compassion and selflessness. We can teach them to have broad shoulders.

His words encourage us to enjoy the lovely leaves of fall, knowing our time here may be brief, but what is next is wonder and glory. God chooses us willingly to make our own limited and conditional love the groundwork for his unlimited and unconditional love. We can each celebrate this gift, as our autumnal miracle flowing freely from God’s generosity saying: “This is all for you. Enjoy!”