AUTUMN and Expectations

Autumn is my favourite time of the year and also my favourite season of the year. I don't know whether it's the change in the colour of the leaves from green to a fiery colour palette of orange and red or the crisp, sharp bite of the morning air. 

It's a season of cosiness where summer wardrobes change from tank tops to comfy knit sweaters and bare legs search for 200 denier tights to stick to. It's the time of year where you have to brush the dust off of your favourite winter coat and pull your combat boots out from the inner depths of your closet. It's a season where make-up changes as well, replace your light pink lipstick with a dark, red or raspberry coloured lipstick. It's the time of year where you're allowed to use up all of your dark brown eyeshadow for a smokey effect and it's okay to go big and bold on your eyebrows. Comfiness is key, leggings and snoods are a must have and most importantly smile and be thankful in your comfiness!

EXPECTATION

An ideal day in Autumn would be for me to wake up engulfed in my bed covers, the condensation remains are left on the windows creating an imprint of tear drops, the air is warm and little movement is made. I wake up and eat breakfast, do reading for my lectures and seminars, complete tasks for seminars and get started on my essays in time for the deadlines. I may even go out for a walk with my friends and kick the autumn leaves away from my path. When the evening arrives I go through my door, kick off my boots and I make myself a smores hot chocolate, open Netlflix and watch Hart of Dixie until I fall asleep to sweet, sweet dreams of Bluebell and thoughts of Autumn.

REALITY

I literally woke up at 10, got out of bed at 11, did an essay plan for a class, read a few books for my seminars and lectures, didn't finish either of them. Went on Ebay and Amazon looking for phone cases, went on Facebook to arrange meeting times with my friends, ate leftover pizza from last night's movie night with the girls for lunch, sorted out my folders for each module, took down dates of Essay deadlines and in-class tests. All between checking my phone constantly on Instagram, Pinterest and Tumblr in my bid to escape from life for a minute or two. The photos above are the photos I came across on Tumblr and Pinterest, I would very much like to be in each of the photos you see before your eyes. Now I sit on my computer chair that spins around but has no wheels, cross-legged covered in a warm blanket, face bare and bun unashamedly hanging off of my head in a very messy manner while my head dreams of a simpler autumn time when I was younger and wishing I was holding 5 toffee apples in each hand.

Like it is with a lot of things, expectations, when they're not met take the fun out of everything and can leave you disappointed and with the feeling of "well, that wasn't supposed to happen" or "well, that wasn't fun at all". For me, Autumn was this cosy, lay in bed reading a book or watching Netflix all day while drinking a hot chocolate in the evening expectation but in reality I'm just doing work and eating leftover pizza.  I wait, every year with the expectation that Autumn is going to live up to all that Tumblr and Pinterest make it to be and it never always works out the way I planned in my head. 

It is important not to dwell on it, but instead love the season you're in with all of your heart and ask the Lord to give you more love in His creation. I encourage you to take note of every blessing you have in your life up until this moment, everything God has blessed you with. Reflect on where your life has taken you so far and rejoice in the path that God has put you on now. Commit all of your plans to the Lord and He will guide and lead you. Don't let expectations disappoint you but be expectant, waiting patiently for God to move.

BIBLE STUDY: Read Philippians 1.

MEMORY VERSE: " And this I pray: that your love may abound yet more and more and extend to its fullest development in knowledge and all keen insight [that your love may display itself in greater depth of acquaintance and more comprehensive discernment]. "

Philippians 1:9 AMP

P.S - Don't get me wrong Autumn still will always be my favourite season, I am just on that journey of learning to love everything God has enabled me to experience and have in my life.