On my way to class this morning I noticed a maple tree whose leaves show early signs of autumn. The burnt orange is slowly creeping up on the lively green - in a month or so the traces of spring and summer will pass away to reveal a beauty that never lasts long enough in Texas. There are several ways to look at autumn - one being the leaves simply die. The undeniable beauty of this season speaks volumes, insisting there is more than just death. This true fact of nature is viewed year after year: leaves die, release their hold from the branches and fall to the earth. My absolute favoutire time of year is autumn - God uses this transition as the exemplum of my proper response to Him. It is a futile effort for the tree to resist the inevitable: an impossible feat. The cool of autumn purges every remnant of the season before. It is only in a complete release of our will and our white-knuckled grasp on the branch that we can be vibrantly transformed by the Creator. Prepare to be dressed for autumn . . .