There is just something about the word… autumn.

I hear the word autumn and instantly my heart warms with optimism for all of life’s possibilities.  More than ciders, sweaters, bonfires and beautiful leaves, autumn is about a season of harvest.  And it is not just for harvesting fruits and vegetables.  It is a season to harvest the meticulously grown, cared for and loved “crops of our lives”.

So often in life as we tend to “our crops” we –  like the years – go through seasons.  These seasons can be in our personal, professional, spiritual, mental or physical spaces.  Our seasons don’t always correspond to the seasons that divide each year.  One of our seasons can vary in length, such as short like a month’s time to over a year.

Winters test our spirits, determination and often make us question our very existence.  The wisest ones use the darkness of winter to plan for the unseen possibilities ahead.  In spring, hope sprouts from the darkness and we plant the seeds for our dreams.  In the long days of our summers, we work nonstop day and night caring for those growing crops and dreams.  Finally, in autumn we are filled with the accomplishment and joy brought by our hard earned harvest successes.

And although each season has its specific and necessary purpose in our life, we strive to reach Autumn’s peak.

Autumn is the place where we reap the rewards of all our hard work of planting in the springs and the summers.  Autumn is a place that has grown from the seasons it has been through.  Autumn is often where life is how we pictured it would be.  Autumn is where we count our blessings. Autumn is where we plan for the winters ahead.

But one thing must be very clear – to reap the rewards of autumn, we must choose to plan, plant, tend to, love and harvest. It is a choice that requires hard work and unwavering commitment throughout all four seasons. Hope without choice is a just a dream. Choice without hard work is just a failure.

This is a space to encourage, inspire and help anyone who sees it to strive for the autumn in their life. No matter what season you are currently in, I hope peace is found in this space and in the fact that with hard work, patience, and faith autumn is on its way.

~C~

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(Update ~ April 2019)

I came up with the idea of Autumnspeak, this space, many years ago. From the moment it was conceived it lived in my heart and it lived in my mind. It was the child of this tiny yet ever burning flame in me for purpose and indestructible hope.

Like human children, this space has morphed many times since its birth. However, its core character has never wavered.

This past personal winter was brutal and almost took me out. But by the grace of God it didn’t. And with that blessing, I choose to do good with that second chance.  I choose sharing, I choose healing and I choose joy.

In this space, I will share my grief, my triumphs, my fears, and my faith. I will share my journey. I know there is purpose in pain and if sharing my all, the bad and the good, can help even one person then sharing was all worth it.

And as I think about everything, that truly is the essence of this space Autumn’s Peak.

~C~