Walking with God in the Heart of Autumn

October in North Carolina is hands down my favorite time of the year in my favorite place on earth! North Carolina is home, a safe-haven, and a feeling in my soul. If you know, you know! Its comfort provides a sense of belonging. It is a warm hug of faith and family rooted in God. It is felt on a hike, in the recipes we make and share, and in the salt of the earth people who keep traditions alive.

Visit the mountains this time of year and you can feel it; a pull toward traditions, toward family, toward normalcy. Apple festivals, Cotton Ginning Days, a molasses festival, even a livermush festival abound. Each weekend offers an opportunity to relish in the simplicity of an almost bygone era. I can close my eyes and picture a time when smartphones and instant access to everything didn’t rule the day. I encourage you to take a walk outside and breathe in the fresh air; breathe out tension and worry. Take a break from the busyness of life and go to a fall festival. Or maybe have a bonfire at home and roast some marshmallows. It is so good for the soul!

This morning, I am sitting at my writing desk while a soft breeze stirs the curtains, filling the room with fall-fresh air. My Bible, my journal and My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers surround me. As I read God’s word, with the sounds of birds chirping and the rustling of leaves in the breeze, I praised God for all the blessings in my life. I thanked him for his traveling mercies and spiritual protection this week as I attended a conference for work. When we gather and have to chance to share with people from all walks of life with sometimes vastly different points of view, it is such an opportunity to show Jesus to others. I pray that I did.

The devotional I just read, “Getting Into God’s Stride”, is grounded in Genesis 5:24, “Enoch walked with God…”. I sure did sense the holy spirit whispering to me about my walk. I pray that I walk in step with God no only in thought but in word and deed. For me, it is a daily process of asking God to reveal the next steps that He and I will take together. It is an intentional process, a daily practice that is always being refined and renewed.

When I am headstrong and walking on life’s journey on my own, I am susceptible to stumble, and boy, I can stumble! My prayer is to intentionally set out on my daily path in step with God. We can’t do this life on our own.

As we prepare for the week ahead, I pray that we begin our days focused on God. May we be women and men after God’s heart. May we be loving through the truth of God’s word in the face of all sorts of challenges this week. I pray that we are “strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might” and that we l put on the armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-20) to be prepared for what each day brings.

Enjoy this day that the Lord has made and rejoice in it! What a gift we have in front of us and what a joy it is to walk step by step with God!

Happy fall, y’all!

~Laura