November settles in like a deep breath – soft light, thinning trees, the quiet hum of endings. The earth, dressed in copper and gold, begins her slow surrender. Each leaf that drifts to the ground feels like a gentle sermon on mortality. It is a reminder that even what falls can be beautiful.
We often think of falling as failure, yet nature shows us something different. The leaves don’t resist; they release. They let go not because they’ve lost their worth, but because the season calls for rest. Their falling makes way for new life hidden beneath the soil — unseen but certain.
This rhythm has always inspired artists – those who understand that creation and loss are often entwined. I think of Vincent van Gogh. He found holiness in the simplest things: a field, a tree, a flicker of light at dusk. His brush turned ordinary decay into something sacred, golden. “There is peace even in the storm,” he once wrote. He saw what November teaches us – that life’s beauty is brief, but never wasted.
Maybe that’s what this month is for. It is for learning to release what no longer serves us. It is to hold our loved ones tenderly. We should trust that God’s grace carries us through each changing season. We are part of this same sacred rhythm – blooming, releasing, resting, returning.
So, as you sit on your porch or look out at the swirling leaves, let them speak to your spirit. Let them remind you that endings are not empty, but full of God’s quiet promise.
🍂 A Prayer for November
Lord of every season,
Teach us to let go with grace.
When life changes shape or color,
help us trust the beauty of Your design.
May we see, in every falling leaf, a reminder
that all things return to You — whole, holy, and loved.
Amen.
The Prayer Porch 