NEW ENGLAND IN GLORIOUS FALL COLOURS

I was not expecting the drive to State College from Newark, New Jersey to be so memorable. It was in fact spectacular.  The Fall colours which are legendary, were in just about the height of their glory. I was completely taken by surprise. I have seen autumn colours in the UK and New Zealand and they are very beautiful.  However this was something else.  It was mile after mile of fabulous breath taking magnificence.  

Hyperbole is inadequate here.  For mile after mile every hillside, valley and river bank, was covered in masses of colour. Each turn of the road revealed another amazing view of golden tones and hues.  There were almost every variation of the pallet from yellow to purple, there were golds and russets, reds and browns and colours I have no name for. The colours demanded description but they also defied it. Each tree, normally subsumed and lost in the vastness of wilderness and forest, seemed to be displaying itself individually in its final shout of joy before withdrawing into its winter rest. Each one was distinct in colour or shape.  I felt that each one was displaying the glory of its creator.  Red shouldered hawks flew overhead and an occasional groundhog appeared to survey the passing traffic.

It was truly awesome.  I use that world deliberately. As I drove each turn of the road invited another gasp of beauty.  Beauty is something that our hearts crave and rejoice in when we encounter it particularly in nature.  It was indeed awesome.  Awesome is an adjective that should be reserved for God since he alone is awesome. It means something that calls forth awe and wonder, that stops us in our tracks and causes us to contemplate the absolute incomparable greatness of our God in whose presence we feel so small and insignificant.  The awesome presence of God filled my heart as I encountered the beauty of the scenery along the road. Beauty points our hearts to the Father if we let it.  We have a choice when confronted by awesome beauty. We can photograph it, celebrate it and move on or we can try to capture it, savour it and celebrate beauty’s origin which comes from the master craftsman of the universe God our Father.  He seems to delight in the delight that beauty brings to us.  I felt so loved by him as I drove.  I put a favourite CD on and turned up the volume and sang at the top of my voice.  It was such a great drive!