Have I Peaked?

Have I peaked? 
Have my green leaves 
turned golden red, 
moving toward brown 
when my strong stems 
go limp and lose 
their grip, break loose 
and fall to earth? 

Old age brings joy 
in matured skills, 
new opportunities. 
Yet my end time 
draws nearer every day. 
I will just smile 
and greet every hour 

with gratitude 
for gracious love 
that makes me shine 
when Light divine, 
incites my glow 
and is reflected. 
This is his show!

We were traveling back from Sault Ste. Marie to our vacation refuge, Chalet Shalom, gasping when we turned a curve and saw a stretch of maples, oaks and birches at their autumn peak. The glory of the reds and golds, shining bright in midday sun and contrasting with the evergreens, took our breath away.

“Ah! They are so gorgeous!” I said to Glenn, who was driving.

He turned towards me. “These have peaked! And so have you! . . .I mean, you are gorgeous too!”

He realized that calling me “peaked” could have more than one meaning. We smiled. He is so sweet. And funny.

“Maybe I have peaked,” I said. I began meditating on that.

To “peak” means to be at the height of one’s color palette, for these trees at least. It is so stunning that tourists come from far-off countries to see this beauty. Timing is important; it won’t last long. In a couple of weeks the trees will be barren, entering winter hibernation.

If I have “peaked,” perhaps I am at the height of my productivity, nearing the end of being able to positively affect others. Maybe I will soon enter some kind of hibernation. That could mean forced rest during a season of trials—like Michigan’s cold winter must be for trees. It may mean that spring will come, another season of bursting into green productivity.

I have friends going through tough seasons, some of them parched with grief, others finding their functioning inhibited by illness or cancer. I pray that they will experience the restoration needed while they wait for “spring.” Our Father promises us that his purposes for us will come to fruition.

Or perhaps old age is delivering a reality check: life is winding down. We don’t know when we will get to the very last day, but each morning brings it closer. We might topple suddenly the way so many trees are in the violent hurricanes south of here. That could be tomorrow. Or the check could signal a hibernation season that will eventually end with that New Season in a New World where all is well.

What season are you in?

What season am I in? I do see myself becoming more effective in skills that I’ve been honing for decades. Actually, I’ve prayed for that maturation and have practiced spiritual formation. But it is the Spirit that transforms us, empowering us to use the gifts he gives. It is all in process for the purpose that our God and Father has for us. I am experiencing more sensitivity to his prompts, and this is truly encouraging.

I know that life is but a breath, and if I am able to complete the task he has given me in Nyarafolo Bible translation (as exegete to help finish the Old Testament), I will have entered the next decade. And the 80’s sound really old now!

My comfort and hope is this: my times are in his hands. Your times are in his hands too, all you who are his sons and daughters. Every day is a gift, and when our final winter is over we will wake up to Glory!

This is so true:

The life of mortals is like grass, they flourish like a flower of the field; the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more. (Ps. 103:15.16 NIV)

Then I join the psalmist in singing this to Father God:

. ¹³ For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. ¹⁴ I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. ¹⁵ My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. ¹⁶ Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. ¹⁷ How precious to me are your thoughts, God! How vast is the sum of them!  (Ps. 139:13-17 NIV)

And one of the ways the Father assures me of his good plan is this:

I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say, ‘My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.’ (Isa. 46:10 NIV)

Since our God is love, and completely good, I rest in his plan!