Life Lessons in the Leaves
Fall came very late in the Blue Ridge Mountains of western North Carolina. A very wet summer almost cancelled the fall fashion show. After weeks of nothing but green leaves, a pop of color finally appeared around Halloween. First, we saw a little yellow, then a touch of red, and finally, around November 1, the trees began to pop and explode with bold, vibrant hues.
I’m not sure whether the color or the ANTICIPATION of color gathered the most focus this year, but isn’t that often the case when we’re expecting something? And life and leadership are always about expectation. We have a vision of what “can be” and a heart for the unimaginable, the beautiful, and the life-changing moment that makes effort worthwhile, but the wait for these outcomes is sometimes excruciating. It’s only natural that we almost lose our sanity when the waiting grows longer with no observable change.
In the season of WAITING for change, we can easily lose our vision and mission for change. It’s easy to give up, find another pursuit, or switch to something that offers a more immediate return on change. But it’s in that season of waiting; waiting for people and circumstances to change; waiting for barriers to break; waiting for breakthroughs; and waiting for the leaves to transition from green to yellow and red; that we must dig a little deeper and remember why we started waiting in the first place. No change ever comes without some level of hardship or waiting, but how we tend to forget that when we’re in the difficult season.
We make choices in life and in positions of leadership; choices about being willing to weather the storms and wait for the huge burst of color that reminds us that beautiful change is possible. But if we let our weariness and anticipation get the best of us, to the point that we fail to wait for the best outcome (whether personal or professional), then we will miss transitioning into the most vibrant version of ourselves that we have potentially ever known. Moral of the story: Be willing and eager to wait for the best that is to come; be willing to wait for the fall that follows spring, because the payoff will be worth it in the end.