Payette enterprise. (Payette, Canyon Co., Idaho) 1909-1935, 1911-11-02
MANY LESSONS FROM
THE FALLING LEAVES
Beauty Of the Autumn Foliage Is
the Beauty Of Decay and Death.


The subject OF the sermon last
sunday evening at the Eapt g. church
was Autumn Lea, e." The pas.or.
Rev. Henry Van Engelen. pointed a
lesson from TIE forests ana the rip
ened fields OF grain. His txt was
taken from Isaiah G4:6. I'VE ali do
fade as leaf" He said in part:
4 Among the ancients the month
Of October was the eighth month Of
their cyar as the name indicates.
their year as the name indicates.
bloomed In June, II ripened into a
golden har est in November and
then began its decline until II died
! a lingering death in February. 10
the Greeks and Romans October was
I pFeeminently a month OF festivity
and rejoicing, echoes OF which still
linger In modern fairs and festivals
OF the year.
III we viii walk with our eyes
open, our thinking facult es alert
and our souls In a responsive atti-
tude 70 the voice OF God in nature
this month may bring us many
Even a dull observer must notice
wholesome and life ennoblng lessons.
how the green foliage OF spring and
summer has changed and what a
great variety OF lovely colors and
delicate hues appear on every hand. |
The royal colors Of purple and gold |
are everywhere in 9, ldence, and
the russell brown, and particularly |
In this Vicinity the various tints |
OF yellow predominant and abound. |
Oh, II this world, which is but the |
vestibule OF the world TO come, is |
already so beautifully adorned, how |
glorious must be the eternal world |
to which we are Fastening.
our delight In the wonderful |
transformation we behold In nature
all about us Is not lessened by the
fact that this delightful change is
accompanied by harvest of bles-
sing, When the leaves on the
vine begin to turn it is then that
purple clusters of grapes begin to
greet our eyes. AS the tall stalks
lose their freshness the GOLDEN
corn appears. When the leaves In
the orchard turn yellow then beau
tliul red apples, weighing down
the branches, present a sight no ar
list can duplicate.
Can we observe all these beauti-
ful works OF God in nature all about
us and close our minds and hearts
against the lessons they bring? 1t
is certainly worth while to Guilt
yate the habit OF observation. A
falling apple led the obser, ing New
ton TO discover the universal law of
sravitation. Edison, the greatest
Inventive genius of this age, is a
very keen observer What then, are
some OF the lessons which the yell
ow tinted autumn leaf as it shiv.
prs In the morning frosts, is seek
nS to whisper in our ear?
First, Ii brings to US a lesson in
mortality. The beauty of autumn
oliage Is really the beauty of de-
'ay and death. Those purple and
,0lden hues and delicate yellow
ints would not delight our eyes If
decomposition had not set in. Their
line has come to die and they re-
mind us that our time to die must
lso come ere long Death is not
n accident nor misfortune, but
normal transition to which a nor
nal life may look forward with
by. Just as there comes a proper
line when our mental and physl-
al powers begin to fail and the
fe forces grow weaker and so 1--WE
Il do fade as leaf" The fading
'af not only teaches us that it is
ur privilege to die beautifully, but
lso how we should grow old grace I.
lily and that in our declin ng years
e may be eminently useful. Some 4
the worlds greatest benefactors 1
ave accomplished their best work 1
IT humanity after they passed the
erdian of life.
These fading leaves also speak
us of immortality. Even II they /
formed the trees for only a very
Tort period they fulfilled their mis-
on and accomplished abidng re-
Its. They we're of vital import
ice to the trees and rendered an
service by absorbing
nshine and moisture and passing
Csc on to them for without this
Q trees could not grow and be
litful. Likewise II is our prlvi-
&c so to live day by day that we
all constantly contribute mater
to the sum total of life which
all be substantial and abide for
err"
I'M l