PHOTOGRAPHY & POETRY BY KATHY BOECHER©

It was a lovely day in October a few years ago. The color was just beginning to ebb. Soon the green landscape would explode with oranges, reds, burnt umber and yellow. Paul and I enjoyed several road trips during the last year of his life. We couldn’t afford to travel to far off lands filled with magic and intrigue, but our journeys were memorable, nonetheless. The photos were snapped on my phone and somehow turned out to be black and white. I was rather disappointed that the colors had disappeared for whatever reason. However, even these images show the changing of seasons. We are so much like these seasons in our own living. We’re born in spring when everything is brand new and life is popping out all over. In the summer we are in the hot time of life, with hormones raging and the road paved with goals. In autumn, we hang onto life with every ounce of courage remaining. We look forward and back at old and new memories created. In Winter, we succumb to the darkness of death, but it isn’t the end. We will rise again.

In the heart of the forest, what is it you see,

The death of the brush and the loss of a tree,

They die for a while, and restored once again,

Spring pushes each bud, giving life deep within,

Our days undefiled and sins now washed clean,

With the pure life of Jesus, we now can convene,

The darkness of winter can leave deep remorse,

We wander away and relinquish our course,

The coldest of days will be warmed through the night,

Our Savior will comfort and holds each one tight,

He won’t let us go, if we trust in His Word,

Our souls are renewed and our steps undeterred.

THANK YOU, JESUS, FOR ANOTHER DAY!