Leaves, leaves, … leaves. Oh, how I love to view the beautiful fall leaves. There is a wondrous beauty in God's handiwork each Fall as He paints the mountains and valleys with beautiful reds and yellows and oranges.
But, sadly they pass too quickly and often they are left for us to pick up and discard or burn. But even the smell of burning leaves can be a special treat. However, cleaning them up can be a major job.
I am thankful that in recent years we have had my grandson, Zach, to do most of the clean-up for us. That takes him many hours and we are no longer able to share the work with him. But he has been very reliable and works without complaining no matter how cold it may be.
We have a beautiful red maple and we have enjoyed its colors for decades. But it has one problem – it doesn't shed its leaves until the beginning of December. By that time, we reach the end of the time when our township will pick up our leaves. So, every Fall we race against the calendar in hopes of having our large piles of leaves hauled away. This year our tree appears to be extra late so we may lose the race this year. Do you want some leaves?
One of my most interesting memories came the year my mother was killed in the auto accident. Her memorial service came when we had piles of leaves to remove throughout our property. As a joke I changed our phone message to invite folks to help clean up our leaves. While we were at her service, a family from our church showed up and did just that. They cleaned up better than we ever did. We were surprised, stunned and extremely thankful. That was one task we did not think about that year.
Now their response was the right kind of response to the statement "Just let us know if we can do anything for you." There are always things that you can do for those of us who have needs or are handicapped. Just open your eyes.
Well the leaves will soon be gone for another year. But then, unfortunately, next comes … are you ready? …. the ice and snow. I'll gladly take the leaves any day.
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