The Rite of Switching the Wardrobe

On one of these cool mornings we've been having, I reached for a pair of warm, fleecy sweat pants to wear around the house. Finding only summer things in the drawer, I remembered storing the other warm clothing. It is 48 degrees this morning, so I think it's time to switch them back. My closet also needs to be rearranged so I can access sweaters, jackets and fall clothes.

Even though we've been back here for 7 years, I'm still in the south, where we could wear summer clothes all year long by just adding a sweater or jacket. After living there nearly forty years, I'm still startled by the precise change in seasons here. Fall is right on time, the summer was short, spring too fleeting, and winter will be pushing fall out of the way before we know it.

One change I am looking forward to is when the leaves start to turn. They are looking a little faded now, but in a few weeks I know there will be a riot of glorious colors, even rivaling the colors of spring. I read that Indian summer days with their brief warm spells contrasting with very cool nights are responsible for the depth and intensity of colors in the leaves. The earth is getting a new fall wardrobe, rivaling anything we can buy at the clothing store.

In speaking of the future, the Bible tells how the earth will grow old like a garment and be changed. Psalm 102:25-26 says, "Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth: and the heavens are the work of thy hands. They shall perish, but thou shalt endure: yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; as a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed."

Verse 27 assures us, "But thou art the same, and thy years shall have no end."

Even as the beauty of autumn eventually gives way to the dead of winter, we look forward to the glories of spring. Paul tells us in Romans 8:18, "For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us," speaking of future glory.

He says in verse 22 that the whole creation groans and travails. And, in verse 23 that we ourselves groan within ourselves waiting for the redemption of our body.

We used to sing a song in church, that while maybe not grammatically correct, was still right in its theology. It went, "I tell you, the best thing, I ever did do, was to take off the old robe and put on the new. The old robe was dirty, all tattered and torn. The new robe was spotless and never been worn. I tell you, the best thing, I ever did do, was take off the old robe and put on the new!"

Now that's a change of wardrobe!