Depew Church of Christ
Her favorite season of the year was autumn. Born in New York City, on Manhattan Island, the little girl was five years old when her family moved to Staten Island, a rural New York City island with thriving forests.
It was the Great Depression. Her father’s brother hired him to work in his successful hardware store.
They moved away from concrete high-rises into a private home. Quaint, tree-lined streets, numerous parks, and an abundance of wooded areas became her playground. She and her older brother found safer, more pleasant places to roam. The little girl also enjoyed refreshing, cooler weather.
Now, in 1929, that little girl’s world was bedazzled by the vibrant colors of autumn trees which crowded the many parks and shaded the streets of her new Staten Island home. Each year became more wonderful than the last. She felt so alive, so joyful!
In later years, Irene would tell her children, “Fall is my favorite time of year.” It would become the same for her three sons. Irene would take them on Saturday autumn auto excursions into the most undeveloped areas of the island. It was also easy to drive into the rolling hills of farms in New Jersey. You might say, “Those boys fell in love with fall!”
Then Irene enjoyed her final fall. It was late December, in the fifty-eighth year of her life. Cancer ushered in that last autumn.
The vibrancy of living which had defined Irene’s journey through life ended on a cold, wind-swept hilltop in a New Jersey cemetery. She and her family had relocated to that state years earlier.
Nothing in this world truly gives life!
“Just as the Father raises dead people and makes them live again, in the same way, the Son gives life to whomever He wishes” (John 5:21). “I am telling you the truth: the person who listens to My teaching… has eternal life. That person is not under condemnation. Instead, he has passed from death over to life” ( John 5:24).
To ‘listen’ is to internalize. That is different than merely hearing. “Don’t be surprised at this; for a time is coming, when everyone in the graves will hear the voice of the Son of God… Those who lived right will rise to life, but those who did evil things wil rise for judgment” ( John5:28-29).
Seek God and to be right with Him. Only Jesus can give you a truly joyous and meaningful life!