Someone once asked me what I liked about leaves and it was difficult for me to choose just one answer! Did you know caterpillars dine on leaves for nutrition and they even use the leaves as shelter for their cocoon before they emerge as stunning butterflies, isn't that amazing?! I also adore how leaves add art to the streets of my home town, especially during the Fall.
As a child, I often gazed at the leaves and watched them gently sway to the ground. Their colours were vibrant; a variety of orange, yellow, and brown. Every now and then, a breeze would collect the leaves and swirl them in a circular motion... creating an illusion of fire in the wind.This beautiful display caused me to ponder quite a few things, what caused the leaves to shed their green hue for an orange tint during Autumn? Why would the leaves eventually wilt off the protective branches only to be trampled upon the cold ground? It didn't make sense to me and my young inquiring mind could not rest until I found a scientific explanation:
Plants use sunlight to turn water and carbon dioxide into glucose. Glucose is a kind of sugar. Plants use glucose as food for energy and as a building block for growing. The way plants turn water and carbon dioxide into sugar is called photosynthesis. That means "putting together with light." A chemical called chlorophyll helps make photosynthesis happen. Chlorophyll is what gives plants their green color.
When winter comes, the woody parts of trees and shrubs can survive the cold. The above ground parts of herbaceous plants (leaves, stalks) will die off, but underground parts (roots, bulbs) will remain alive. - Source: Science Made Simple
With this new found knowledge embedded within me, I could not help but compare leaves with our relationship with the Almighty God. The leaves turn into the direction towards the sun to receive it's nutrients. Leaves then turn into a vivid color of green which represents life. As Christians, we need to turn to the Son and receive his life giving nutrients. Without Him, we will turn into autumn leaves that dry up, fade and fall into the world where it is trampled and swept away in the wind.
God gives us a wonderful example of our walk with Him with leaves. Do we want to shine brightly in the sun, provide a place of shelter for others even through stormy times? Or do we want to hang on weakly, quickly falling down to the ground from the impact of a single rain drop? Lets embrace God during our every waking moment, arm ourselves with the Truth, and allow God to fill our souls with his life-giving Son-light!
"And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper." -Psalm 1:3 (KJV)
Mrs. Martha is a married Christian lady and mother of one son. She loves the Lord and is on a journey of falling in love with her Saviour each and every day. She blogs at FlyAwayBirdie.
