My favorite time of year – Fall! It always seems there is so much to do and not enough hours in the day to get everything done. The beautiful clear, crisp days and cool evenings are a welcome respite from the hot, humid and hazydays of summer. I love the intensity of the fall colors – red, gold, yellow, orange, brown and sometimes maybe a little purple – nothing timid about those colors! And I love to bring the colors of fall into my home. Several years ago I saw an article in a magazine showing a beautifully decorated fall mantel. I adapted the design to my own home and enjoyed it so much that I do it every year, usually starting around the first of October. The great thing about fall/harvest décor is that once it goes up in October you’re good until Thanksgiving!!!
I start with grapevine garland or similar type material placing that on the mantel first. Then I add three medium sized pumpkins. In the last several years there have been many unusual, different and funky kinds of pumpkins available. This year I used a kind called “Long Island Cheese” which I was told by the girl at the farmer’s market that I could grill or roast when I was tired of using them for decorations! Then I add some garland with fall colors, along with some bittersweet (available at plant stores/nurseries) and then literally tossed on preserved fall leaves from the craft store. The messier looking the better! You want this to look like something you just came across while walking in the woods.
Colossians 3:12 tells us, “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.” (NIV) This leads me to the question if we are to clothe ourselves with kindness, what would that look like? What color would that be? Could others look at us and see “kindness”? Do the colors of our kindness reflect the harvest of our soul? Deep, rich intense colors like those of the fall reflect the love of our Savior within us; He doesn’t love us like “pink”, He loves us like RED! Gold, orange, brown and purple are made from layers of other colors representing the layers and depth of God’s love for us. May we reap the harvest of the Holy Spirit, which is joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
© 2012 Mary M. Berryman All rights reserved.