Life's Colorful Choices-- Fading, Dull, or Vibrant?

The leaves are starting to change color here in Maine. What was once such a beautiful, delicate green in early spring, is now changing to the colors of a vibrant fire...orange, yellow, and red. Each so amazingly beautiful... some leaves with a spectrum of all 3 colors combined with a little leftover green. And yet, on occasion we come across a branch with a crinkly, leaf devoid of any real beauty. One that has seemingly skipped that vibrant stage and went on to a very dull brown instead.  In spite of the occasional dull leaf, Autumn is a lovely time of year in Maine.

For me this is a melancholy time and I become retrospective. I tend to be of this sort of mind anyway, but in the fall these feelings are magnified.  As I walk about outside with leaves crunching under my feet, I think about my purpose in this life, my purpose for the rest of 2011, and my purpose for today. What have I accomplished this year? What can I accomplish in the time remaining in this year? What have I been doing and what should I be doing?

My life is at a crossroads, as much as the earth is starting the new season of autumn, I am starting a new season as well. Will I start it with vibrantly beautiful colors or will I hold onto the fading pale green that used to be? Or will I instead choose the dull, dead brown color that some leaves change to rather quickly? The choice is mine... will I hold onto the past, trying to live in it, crippled by it? Will I sulk and worry about the future, give up entirely on today and live a dull, colorless life? Or will I choose to live my life vibrantly, with passion, enjoying every moment, seizing every opportunity God gives me? The choice is indeed mine....