Autumn Leaves

Every October during my student days at Carson-Newman University in Jefferson City, Tennessee, I witnessed the most splendid display of autumn colors. Overnight, God transformed the verdant trees flanking the hallowed halls of Burnett Dorm and Dougherty Science Center into a master artist’s palette of reds, oranges, and golds. What a blessing to lounge in the grass, laughing and chatting with classmates beneath the great flaming maple tree on the expansive lawn of Henderson Humanities Building, high on the hill, colorful leaves softly drifting to the picturesque brick pathway that meandered to the Student Center.

In my biochemistry class, I learned that, surprisingly, those splendid autumn colors are always in those leaves. But most of the year, the vibrant autumn colors are hidden beneath a dark green chemical compound called chlorophyll. During the process called photosynthesis, chlorophyll harnesses the energy of the sun to catalyze the conversion of carbon dioxide and water into sugar for the trees and oxygen for us to breathe.

6CO₂ + 6H₂O → C₆H₁₂O₆ + 6O₂

The shortened hours of sunlight in autumn causes the trees to produce less chlorophyll, therefore unmasking the underlying foundational chemical compounds, which are red, orange, and gold.

God’s creation reflects His majestic nature in so many ways. Just like the bright colors of the leaves are always there, even when unseen, so also God is always there, even though we can’t physically see Him.

What an awesome thing that Jesus’ disciples got to see our Lord in the flesh! But we must believe in the God we cannot see. That sometimes makes it difficult to see God at work, especially when our circumstances seem to indicate otherwise.