Sloughing Off What Weighs Us Down

   One of the great blessings of living in the mountains is the beauty of the changing seasons, and having lived here through the full cycle, I’ve discovered that each season brings with it a different beauty which extenuates the marvel of God’s creation.
    I remember especially the first time I recognized the contrast of going from fall into winter.  The trees changed from beautiful greens into blazing oranges, reds, and yellows, but then as if a switch had been turned, the leaves fell to the ground.  What was left were barren limbs.  One might think these would be less attractive, but I have found this time of year to be marvelous, because when the leaves are gone, one can see what lies beneath the canopy.

    Every day I leave my home and make my way down Read Mountain, as I do I look across the valley toward Stewart’s Knob.  When I look across in the winter months I am amazed at how much shorter the mountain really is, for I can look through the trees and see the ridge line, 20-30 feet below what it looks like in the other seasons.  Then I look at the mountain itself and notice the old logging roads and the outcrops of rocks.  All the details pop out when the leaves have been sloughed off.
    However, this morning was different because last night we had an ice storm.  As I came down the mountain the trees around me and on Stewart’s Knob were weighed down.  It was no more than a light glazing but it was enough to pull on the branches.  As I looked across the valley, instead of seeing the details of the topography, I saw only the tops of the trees.  I couldn’t see the ground beneath or any of the other features that entertain me on my usual commute.
    Today is has warmed up, and I’m sure that when I come down from my home the next time the trees will be standing tall again for all the ice will have melted away.  They will be back to normal, and again I will see the details.

    As I thought about the trees I thought about how the same can be true with us.  I thought about how we go through seasons of life, and there are times when are beauty shines and times when things look stark.  There are times when we are full and bright and times when we have sloughed off so much that it seems we are standing there naked so that everyone “sees” the details of our lives.
    But what struck me this morning is that there are times when things cling to us.  We may want to stand erect and look to the skies, but the ice, the struggles, the stuff of life seems to meld to us and weigh us down.  It is then that the details become less visible to others, and often to ourselves.  It is then that we need someone or something to free us.  It is then that the “Son” comes to shine on us, and when He does, these things are sloughed off.
    ...And we can again resume our role of standing tall, living boldly, and proclaiming Joy and Hope to the world.

What do you need to slough off?  What is weighing you down?
Pray for the Son to shine on you and free you to truly live!