It was at the end of the day that didn't even begin that I decided to sit around the sunken garden for a while on my way home. There wasn't anything in particular to think about, but everything just seemed to slow down at that moment and I decided it was a good idea to take a breather. I was enjoying the late afternoon wind and I thought it was beautiful how the leaves started to fall from the acacia trees...a forgivable moment of letting the aspects of creation get to you.

Then a leaf brushed my arm and landed on my lap.

As I picked it up, I realized it was a dead thing. All the things that I found beautiful at that moment were things that had just died. And I thought of how humanly naive it was for me to think it was a beautiful thing, of how human it was for me to not really see things for what they were.

Just before I thought too much of the falling dead before me, I think I heard a whisper, "It's how I meant it to be."

The way You meant it to be? Your design? So I thought about it. Was there something a dead leaf in my hand could teach me about God?

Apparently, there was.

I imagine, for most of it's life, the leaf must have gone largely unnnoticed. Blending perfectly into the green background with all it's buddies. There is a lot of fear in life to lose one's identity amongst the faces of a multitude, yet it probably didn't mind. It knew where it belonged and that accomplishing its design meant acknowledging those that were in its likeness.

I imagine that for most of it's life, the leaf must have gone largely unnappreciated. It didn't stop to look for thank you's, or leave time to regret over things. It only knew that the sun and rain kept it growing, so it decided to keep on living.

Ever so humble, it's lived every second of its life always filled with purpose. And even in the end, it would leave the world in such a way that would give a sense of beauty and peace to a sinners heart.

....

"I believe in Christianity as I believe that the Sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else."
-CS Lewis