The leaves have begun to fall. Relaxing in our outdoor swing, I observed the ground is covered with brown, brittle brush. Actually, I’ve seen only a few drifting down; but the covered ground tells me the air is raining leaves. The first falling leaves are sneaky. They don’t let you see them. Soon, however, they will fall in large quantities, a deluge of tree dandruff.
You may wonder why I am so worked up about falling leaves; after all, it happens every fall. I will tell you. There are more than 200 trees on our lawn. I spend hours, even whole days gathering them up each year; and I am stressing out about it already. Each year I promise myself that next year I will get one of those leaf vacuums you pull behind your mower. Alas, it is not in the budget. The vacuum will have to wait. I comfort myself by saying I don’t have a place to store it even if I could afford it.
As I sat in the swing observing the leaves, I thought, “What can I learn from this?” Well, it teaches me that nearly every good thing has a price. We purchased our house during the summer. At that time, the trees look their best. We love them in the summer; the shade, the birds, the squirrels give us the great outdoors right in our own yard. Now, it is time to pay the piper. If you have trees, you also have leaves.
One time a group of people followed Jesus. They had seen His miracles and heard him speak of love and peace. They thought they wanted to be His followers, His disciples. Jesus said, “If anyone would be my disciple, he must take up a cross… He must give up everything else… He might not even have a place to lay his head.” The crowds left; only 12 disciples remained.
Being a Christian is the greatest life there is; there is no finer blessing. However, Jesus honestly told us this great life has a cost. He also said it is worth the cost. He said it is like the merchant who sold everything to purchase one pearl. When all was said and done, the merchant was richer than ever. (Matthew 25:45-46)
