I’m not going to be the girl who apologizes for not updating her blog recently. I have a life, and therefore writing a post is not on the top of the most important thing on my to-do list.
Fall is finally here! September 23 donned the beginning of the season and was also the day of the Cru retreat. Like always, I had an absolutely wonderful time at the retreat located in the quaint Camp Piankatank (I’ve got Microsoft Word stumped on this one). Every year they split up the guys and girls for an evening of Men and Women’s Time. Women’s Time is my favorite part because it gives us females that chance to open up with each other and just be honest. And who doesn’t like to talk about “relationshipy” stuff without the influence of the opposite sex. This year was different than last, though. I didn’t feel like I was alone on certain topics we discussed. It felt much more open and I was truly blessed by the women around me. Hearing their stories and knowing we’re going through the same thing brought a sense of comfort. For me, I never like it when Christians feel like they have to put up a front and cover their insecurities and struggles. In reality, we all struggle with the same things any other person does. Women’s Time was a reminder of that and I knew that every one of the women there were authentic and honest. It was such an encouraging time and something I really needed.
I am currently home on my Fall Holiday. The leaves in the Shenandoah Valley have begun to dress in their royal reds and oranges to say farewell before they fall to the ground to be raked into a beautiful pile of earthy tones. Fall never ceases to inspire me, and I find myself looking up every possible recipe that uses pumpkin and cinnamon, my favorite fall flavors. Amy and I went on a bike ride yesterday morning and I almost started crying from all the beauty around me. I could’ve been hormonal, but I’d like to think I was so blown away from the heavenliness of the scenery that it caused me to tear. Speaking of being blown away, the autumn breeze is so different than any other breeze. There’s a crispness to it that I just can’t get enough of…granted I have a hat and scarf.
I hope you all are enjoying your fall. Here is a poem to encourage your Autumn cheer.
October's Bright Blue Weather
By Helen Hunt Jackson
O sun and skies and clouds of June
And flowers of June together,
Ye cannot rival for one hour
October's bright blue weather;
When loud the bumblebee makes haste,
Belated, thriftless vagrant,
And goldenrod is dying fast,
And lanes with grapes are fragrant;
When gentians roll their fringes tight,
To save them for the morning,
And chestnuts fall from satin burs
Without a sound of warning;
When on the ground red apples lie
In piles like jewels shining,
And redder still on old stone walls
Are leaves of woodbine twining;
When all the lovely wayside things
Their white-winged seeds are sowing,
And in the fields, still green and fair,
Late aftermaths are growing;
When springs run low, and on the brooks
In idle, golden freighting,
Bright leaves sink noiseless in the hush
Of woods, for winter waiting;
When comrades seek sweet country haunt
By twos and twos together,
And count like misers hour by hour
October's bright blue weather.
O sun and skies and flowers of June,
Count all your boasts together,
Love loveth best of all the year
October's bright blue weather.
