its only autumn

It has been years since we experienced a true autumn and the colours are, well, colourful! There is a large mix here of deciduous and evergreen trees, so in addition to the various shades of green, we now have red, gold, bronze and aubergine.

The only problem is the temperature guage which claimed that it was 3.7 degrees when Phil walked to school this morning. I baulked at the idea of going outside in THAT, so Phil had to walk on his own. Maybe I will be braver tomorrow.

Metamorphosis – Change – Transformation - Metamorphoō

Some orange-eyed tree frog (xanthamera) tadpoles where in our backyard this wet season and so I had the privilege of watching them transform from tadpoles to frogs. Trying to document changes is tricky, they can occur quite suddenly, causing you to miss them. One day the tadpoles have no legs, and the next, they do. Even when they finally emerge from the water, change is still occurring as they finally take on their adult shape and colourings. The emergent frog can look very different to its final form, as is the case with this xanthamera.

Even though change is occurring from tadpole to frog, it still has the same DNA. It is still the same animal! A different form means different abilities and activities, but being the same animal, it has the same ultimate goal or purpose.

We too are about to embark on yet another change as we move from sunny far north Queensland to Luxembourg. Change isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, and it isn’t exactly ours either. Change is stressful. Change can also be detrimental. We heard recently that up to 90% of a plant’s roots die when it is transplanted from one place to another. We had a beautiful orchard butterfly lay eggs on our mandarin tree in January. The caterpillars grew and transformed into chrysalis’. Attacked by parasites, they never survived this stage, and so never became butterflies.

Some people have told us that it is easy for us to change, that we don’t have kids or responsibilities such as a mortgage. They couldn’t be further from the truth. It’s just that we are willing to change; Willing to not hold onto the past and to go back to the beginning. Willing to let go of familiarity and share ourselves with someone new at our own expense.

Similar to the orchard butterfly, we are vulnerable. Similar to the frog, our whole lifestyle will change in Luxembourg and we will function differently. Similar to a plant, we will make a loss and parts of us will die during the change. We do not relish change and often wish that we could remain planted in familiar soil. Change, however, is what we have been called to do. We look forward to Luxembourg for the new things we will experience. We will not dwell on the losses.
So life for us at the moment is all about researching shipping companies (again), learning French, and making the most of our last few months in this stunning part of the world.

Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a servant and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God. He was even willing to die, yes, even to die on a cross. Philippians 2:6-8