“There the angel of the Lord appeared to him [Moses] in a flame of fire out of a bush; he looked, and the bush was blazing, yet it was not consumed.”
~Exodus 3:2

There’s a beautiful maple tree in the backyard at the parsonage. 
I sometimes have referred to the tree as “the burning bush.”
Because the leaves become bright red during these autumn days, and sometimes,
with the way the light shines through the tree, it does look aflame!
The Golden Hour in particular can be stunning.

I was outside this week with Hildy and observed the leaves of the maple tree, taking the time to really look at how different the maple leaves look this year compared to past years.  Now I know that rainfall affects the colors we see on autumn leaves.  For instance, summer droughts stress trees out, and that means trees could lose their leaves early or even start color production early.  The right weather during fall helps with more intense color production within the leaves of trees.  The good folks at Harvard relate, “The reds (anthocyanins), which require sunlight for production, are enhanced by cold and sunny days. Rainy and windy weather during the autumn can knock leaves down prematurely thereby shortening the color display at its peak.”*

Lord knows we have had so much rain of late! 
And it appears that these rainy and windy days have affected our dear maple tree. 

All of this to say, this week part of me felt disappointed that the leaves were not as brilliantly red as they have been previously.   
But upon closer inspection, these leaves have a story to tell too. 
Maybe these leaves on this maple tree resemble something half-done. 
Leaves as a work-in-progress. 
Lovely in their own way, with those glimmers of red. 
Brilliance still shining through, despite all those rainy days.
Resilience. 
I find this to be beautiful too. 

Love,
Pastor Lauren 

Photos by Rev. Lauren Ostrout.

*”Factors Influencing Autumn Leaf Colors,” Harvard Forest,
https://harvardforest.fas.harvard.edu/leaves/factors#:~:text=The%20right%20weather%20during%20the,color%20display%20at%20its%20peak.

Thursday Thoughts 10/26/23