There is a tree in front of you. Can you see it?

It is towering overhead. The trunk reaches over 20 feet. It’s branches lurch and stretch high and wide spanning a good length. The leaves are a vibrant yellow, red, orange, brown, and green.  A comfortable shadow is cast; providing shade all around it’s trunk and beyond its leaves.

The ground is sturdy. The roots go deep. It has been there for years and when you cry it weeps. The leaves fall below to offer a compassionate touch. Some of them land on you while all of them are orchestrated together like a well organized landing crew. They make a beautiful leafy fall covered scene around you. 

I hope you can see the colors. I hope you can see their journey down from their homestead limbs. I hope you can see how they flutter and flop and hear how some drop with a plop, while others mozy to the ground making a sound like the shuffle of puppies circling to lay their heads down. 

There is a symphony around you. I hope you hear it. I hope you hear the leaves rustle loudly in the wind and quietly at days end. Or how the birds collaborate with the tree, singing wonderful songs. Birds who mock and birds who rap a constant chat. Birds who solo and birds who sing deep like a cello. With the leaves they join together like a choir. Some songs are slow and some songs are fast, but most songs portray a joyful trumpets blast. I hope you can hear the restful tree symphony. 

I hope you can see its complexity made simple. I hope you can hear its wonderful sound.

The tree offers protection in the form of a canopy. The canopy keeps you dry when it rains. When it is overly sunny the canopy gives you a shady place.  And thus it is with God’s common grace. The rain falls and the sun shines on the field of both the wicked and righteous. In light of this, I hope you do not dismiss this gift like Judas did with a kiss. Common grace sustains us and through it we experience God’s bliss.