An Autumn Celebration: The Subtle Beauty of Midlife Fruitfulness

An Autumn Celebration: The Subtle Beauty of Mature Fruitfulness

Posted on by Michele Morin

The garden here on the hill has gasped its last, and sunflowers stand guard over the ruins. Rows of canning jars in my basement are solid evidence of summer’s fruition. I expect to be enjoying our beautiful butternut squash for Thanksgiving dinner, but, looking for pumpkins among the tangled vines, the gardening season seems to have flown by.

It’s time to start watching for the first signs of autumn color along the edges of maples and birches. Their reds and yellows are a resounding “NOW!” that signals the onset of glorious death as the leaves prepare to fall in preparation for the long Maine winter, the weight of snow and ice, and finally, at long last, the promissory budding of new leaves in the early spring.

Does it amaze you, too, that God times all of this for maximum beauty and drama? The bright orange pumpkins and vivid red apples stand out in celebration of God’s generosity. I wonder where David was standing when he wrote this harvest song?

“You crown the year with Your goodness,
And Your paths drip with abundance.
They drop on the pastures of the wilderness,
And the little hills rejoice on every side..” (Psalm 65:11-12)

This psalm summons images of an overflowing wheelbarrow on the path between garden and house and stooping to pick up spilled abundance.

Celebrate Autumn!

Of course, the truth is that, in Christ, abundance is ours in every season. We just see it and celebrate it with more gusto in the fall because all of creation serves as a metaphor depicting the beauty of mature fruitfulness.

I’m in no position to be glib about the effects of aging—I feel them, quite literally, in my bones. And yet, I have no desire to trade the gifts that have come with 62 birthdays to return to the suppleness of youth. For those willing to see and receive it, there is a more subtle beauty to be found in the hard-earned wisdom and mellowed perspective of a life well-lived and well-loved.

The final days of a bountiful harvest invite us to stand alongside the psalmist in gratitude for the goodness of this year and the cumulative goodness of all our years. Along with the beauty of autumn in creation, may our lives also put God’s beauty and creativity on display!

Holding you in the light,

I’m in no position to be glib about the effects of aging—I feel them, quite literally, in my bones. And yet, I have no desire to trade the gifts of aging. There is a more subtle beauty in the mellowed perspective of a life well-lived.

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Published by Michele Morin

Michele Morin is a Bible teacher, writer, reader, and gardener committed to the truth that women can become confident Christ-followers and students of God's Word. She has been married to an unreasonably patient husband for thirty-plus years, and together they have four married sons and a growing fleet of adorable grandchildren. Michele loves hot tea and well-crafted sentences, poems that stop her in her tracks, and days at the ocean with the whole family. She laments biblical illiteracy and advocates for the prudent use of “little minutes.” She blogs at Living Our Days, and you can connect with her on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter.

13 thoughts on “An Autumn Celebration: The Subtle Beauty of Mature Fruitfulness”

  1. I also picture a full and overflowing display of the harvest when I read that psalm! What a good thought that the cumulative goodness of God over the course of our lives – and of history too – is part of the harvest as well. Something I’ll be pondering for awhile, and it’s good that I do.

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  2. Oh I love those verses. In the King James it says, thy paths drop fatness. It always makes me want to be walking in the beauty of God’s abundant world.

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  3. ‘For those willing to see and receive it, there is a more subtle beauty to be found in the hard-earned wisdom and mellowed perspective of a life well-lived and well-loved.’

    Wow. Wisdom for the weeks and seasons ahead, friend. 70 looms in ’25. I can not believe it for one minute. A life well-lived and well-loved is who and where and what I want to be. God’s grace will take me there. One step at a time.

    May we choose to age joyfully despite the obstacles and hurdles that are cropping up in front of us. Thanks for this needed nudge of inspiration. A lovely way to end the weekend …

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  4. If I divide a long life-span of 96 years into seasons, spring would cover ages 0-24, summer from 25-48, autumn from 49-72, and winter from 73-96. That puts me in the winter of life, though I do not feel like it at all! So far I’m experiencing a long autumn, I think, though the calendar says differently. I agree with your idea that joy is a large part of aging well. In fact, secular research has found that those with a positive attitude (and we Christians should be the most positive of all) usually enjoy a better quality of life and increase our longevity. Also encouraging: as long as God gives us strength, we can still impact the lives around us for good.

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  5. I have no desire to re-live the first 20 years of my life – but it would be nice to only go back if I knew then what I know now. I rejoice in the peace and wisdom that has ripened in my life – the knowledge gained of who I am to our Father. Your description of autumn refreshed my spirit. There’s a lot of yellows in Tennessee – and the brittle dryness has become saturated in these storms and pattering rains. I would like a few stereotypical autumn days – but Tennessee swings between extremes with few inbetweens.

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    1. I keep getting reminders from friends of just how blessed we are here in New England!
      And there’s no way I would go back in time without all the hard lessons of mothering and failing tucked firmly in my mind!

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  6. If I knew then what I know now 🙂 And yet, what I know now is only due to what I didn’t know then! Oh the grace and mercy of our Lord in all of our days! “…there is a more subtle beauty to be found in the hard-earned wisdom and mellowed perspective of a life well-lived and well-loved.” Praying to age with wisdom, a mellow perspective, and joy. May the Lord keep His hand upon you for all of your days!

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  7. I agree, I wouldn’t want to exchange what I know now and the person I am for who I was in my twenties and thirties. I like what Joanne said, that what we are now is because of what we didn’t know before and had to learn along the way. “May our lives also put God’s beauty and creativity on display!” Amen!

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