I am absolutely and completely in love with the month of October. I praise God for giving us this beautiful month of frosty mornings, breath carried away in puffs of smoke from our steamy mouths, and fiery leaves setting the trees ablaze against a bright blue sky, then silently falling to the ground in a sweet, musky-smelling pile that crackles under our feet.
Quite a few years ago when my children were very small, my sons and I were on our way to our neighborhood school where my oldest son, John, attended kindergarten. We were pleasantly surprised by a huge leaf pile, taller than my son's heads, piled up in the street, waiting for the city workers to come take it away in their truck to some far off destination for burning. Who could resist taking a few minutes out of a hectic schedule to jump and play in that glorious pile? We all rejoiced in the fun of that moment until a quick glance at my watch told me that we if we didn't cut the leaf-jumping short, John would be late for school. As the boys regretfully climbed out of the leaves, and brushed the remaining golden fragments from their jackets, Justin began to cry, for he had lost one of his shoes in the pile! We all quickly began to hunt for it, pushing and digging through the leaves, but to no avail.
We decided to let four-year-old Justin hop on one foot for the last two blocks to school, and after John went into class, we could look for the shoe once more. After kissing John farewell, Justin, Joe, Jack and I made our way back to the leaf-pile, poor Justin still hopping along. As we turned the corner to where the leaf-pile had been, here was the city truck, all of the leaves in the back, driving away with Justin's shoe! His shoe was lost and carried away!
It was bad luck for us that day, but thinking back to that moment, I realize that it is exactly how I want to be. I want to be lost and carried away like Justin's shoe. Only I don't want to be taken away to the city limits for burning. I want to be lost in Jesus' love, in his sweet and tender arms and carried away to eternal joy in heaven. I know I can get there, but it won't be from jumping head over heels into a leaf pile. Instead, I can get there by jumping head over heels into prayer, covering myself with words of love, burying myself under kind actions for my neighbors and losing myself in the joy of God's love.
Oh Jesus, let me get carried away in the wonder of your Love! Take me away to everlasting happiness. Amen.
