Writing Wednesday: What the “mums” saw

It’s been a minute since I’ve done a Writing Wednesday, but with the close of September, the timing feels right for this post. Enjoy!

Two potted mums flank my front porch steps. We pass through them, often unseeing, on our way into the world, to work, to play, to conquer and accomplish the tasks of life. They are sentinels, guarding the entrance to our home, and watching as we leave to attend to our lives. In Springtime, as the small buds began to poke their heads from the leafy greenery, I envisioned the fullness of their Autumn glory and wondered how our lives would look different in those few short months between bud and bloom.

Spring found us waiting in anticipation, longing for long summer days and sunshine on shoulders. We weathered unexpected heat waves and smoke filled skies. We adventured in places and spaces near and dear to our hearts, and celebrated love: new love and two lives joined, and love that is steadfast and enduring. We crossed off bucket-list items (pizza on the beach) and added new ones (vacationing at the Grand Hotel). We were adopted by a cat who now spends lazy days on the porch. We found beauty in unexpected places, as well as in normal, day to day living.

There were challenges along the way: foot pain that resulted in surgery and recovery, stressful moments of securing plane tickets and waiting for test results, the bittersweet moments of preparing to send a child away on a long-awaited journey. Yet even in the challenge, there is growth.

The seasons have turned over to Fall, and we now find ourselves solidly in the school year, making plans for church events, and thinking of preparing the garden for winter. The mums have seen it all, and as their blooms begin to fade, I can’t help but be reminded of Ecclesiastes: To everything there is a season and He makes everything beautiful in His time.

My children are in a season of adventure: one is far away pursuing a dream, another finds adventure in creating a home, and another is learning new ways of wisdom. For myself, I find myself in a season of transition: my role is the same, yet changing; there are deep desires in me that seem to grow stronger daily, waiting for the day they will be set free to soar. Holding that space for dreams while walking through the daily living of life is my current tension.

More so than other years, I’ve thought often of my mums. We come and go from our front porch in a manner that gives no thought to the flowers that adorn it. But this year, I’m more aware of what the mums saw as the seasons turned around. I appreciate them all the more for their gentle reminder to pay attention to the seasons and beauty of our lives.

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