As we enter the fall season here in the Midwest, my heart is stirred by the beauty of the leaves changing color. The picturesque views are spectacular.
And leave it to God to give us a perfect lesson in transformation by the fascinating process leaves go through to create those breathtakingly beautiful landscapes I so dearly love.
My high school science is a bit rusty, but my research revealed that leaves turn color because they are dying. Leaves are green because of the chlorophyll they use to absorb energy from the sun. The leaves then convert this energy into sugars to feed the tree. Don’t you love that even trees love sugar!
But I digress!
Back to the leaves. As the seasons change and the days get shorter, the chlorophyll starts to break down. The lack of chlorophyll reveals the gorgeous yellow, orange and red pigments that were already inside the leaves but were hidden by the green during the season of summer.
The transformation of the leaves is nature’s way of demonstrating that there is beauty in the dying.
When we die to our old ways, habits, and beliefs that no longer serve us and choose to surrender and submit to God’s plans for us, we open ourselves to the goodness and beauty that is already living inside us. Remember, God created us in His image, so we are inherently good and beautiful.
The “chlorophyll” in our lives that covers that God-given goodness and beauty comes from all kinds of different sources. Whether it’s hurt we’ve gone through, lies we’ve believed about ourselves, shame and regret we feel, lack of confidence and self-loathing we all fall prey to at one time or another, the reality of living in a fallen world covers our true identity in Christ, the goodness and beauty.
But we don’t have to stay there! We can make a conscious decision to engage in the process of transformation!
But how, you may say?
It’s back to the whole dying thing.
My journey has taught me that the greatest transformations I have gone through in my life have by far been in those seasons of dying. They were hard to go through, I struggled to deal with the pain; but the beauty that came from them is irrefutable:
The death of my dream of becoming pregnant led to an experience of intimacy with God that changed my heart forever.
The death of my first marriage led me to reevaluate everything in my life, including my career. I would never be following God’s call to write music and share it with the world without that loss.
The moments of total surrender when I have died to myself and chosen to chase after the heart of Jesus have led to breakthrough in habits and beliefs I could never change on my own.
But here’s the other side of this coin that I struggle with, and I’m sure you do as well: death is never easy. We fight it. We grieve it. We try to avoid it. But just like the leaves must submit to the process in order to reveal the beauty inside of them, it’s necessary for us as well if we want to be transformed.
But there’s hope, my friend! The best news I can share with you is that we don’t have to do this alone! God is ready, willing and able to transform us from the inside out! We don’t have to make a million resolutions to change and then beat ourselves up when we don’t keep them. We simply need to submit and surrender and be willing to die to ourselves.
Paul gives us hope and the how-to:
“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”
Romans 12:2 (NIV)
Transformation is possible for all of us, and it’s a journey of eternal significance. When we choose not to conform to the solutions the world shouts at us about relationship struggles, financial trouble and how to find the best version of ourselves, and instead go to God’s Word to seek His truth about us, that’s when we experience deep, lasting change.
Once we start renewing our minds and killing off the lies the world says about us and begin replacing them with His truth, transformation begins. His Word tells us that we are fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14), we are chosen (Ephesian 1:4), we are redeemed by His blood (1 Peter 1:18-19), we are set free from sin (Romans 8:2), His plans for us are good (Jeremiah 29:11). This list goes on and on.
I encourage you, find scripture that speaks to your heart and memorize it. Put it on your phone. Post it around your house. Repeat it again and again until it becomes truth in your soul and transforms your beliefs.
Transformation is a journey we will all be on until we go home to Jesus…or not. It’s our choice.
But as you gaze at the beautiful landscapes that surround you during this glorious season of fall, remind yourself that those colors that stir your senses were there all along. They were simply hidden.
There’s remarkable goodness and beauty inside of you, my friend. My hope and prayer is that you choose to enter the process of transformation so you can see them and share them with the world.
And remember, the beauty comes in the dying!
Love and hugs,
Jill
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