Let me begin by confessing that I am NOT a “pumpkin spice” girl. I am not drawn in by all the posts, memes and general excitement that started in August in anticipation of this season of Pumpkin Everything. If you’re still with me after that shocking revelation let me mention that I am also a Florida girl, born and raised, with Caribbean blood to boot, so I have never experienced the impressive season changes familiar to all my colder-weather brothers and sisters. In fact, on our 25th wedding anniversary my husband and I went through Georgia to North Carolina just to get in on the Fall bandwagon one time and see leaves in different colors. As I expected, it was a spectacular sight.
But while Fall doesn’t attract me for the most obvious or popular reasons, it definitely does attract me. What exhilarates me about this season are the biblical Fall Feasts of the LORD. The richness, scriptural meaning, prophetic inspiration, and instant intimacy derived from honoring them have transformed my life! If you hang around me for even a short time you will quickly discover that I am passionate about sharing these celebratory mysteries from our Abba. They are still so often overlooked and misunderstood by those of us who have been “grafted in” to the people of Israel through Jesus, the Messiah.
Many times, I have referred to this season as the time of “Feasts, Fasts and Shofar Blasts”. In reality it is a four-step countdown of experiences designed to bring us more fully into God’s awesome presence and to birth revival, new beginnings and fresh encounters with our Almighty Triune God. Each year I have attempted to honor God’s holy convocations, albeit awkwardly and on a small level, and I have enjoyed a new understanding and appreciation of my Hebrew roots and supernatural foundation of faith.
This year during the Feast of Trumpets (Rosh Hashanah) we opened our prayer calls with shofar sounds and took a dive into the meaning of the new year of 5782. During the Days of Awe, we dedicated time to seeking God afresh, turning and returning, repenting and forgiving. On the Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur, we experienced such a sacred and intimate time of prayer with our Jewish brothers and sisters at a local synagogue followed by a delicious dinner and fellowship under the stars at the home of our Rabbi and his family. And this week I have spent many hours under the shelter of the sukkahs in my backyard and at my friends. The feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot) has proven again to be a weeklong joyful celebration of God ‘s glory and majesty. We celebrate His provision, protection and presence which He lovingly gave to His children for 40 years in the Wilderness and has poured out on us by His Spirit today.
These holy celebrations are so very vital because we need continual reminders that God makes and keeps His promises. He desires to meet with us, restore us and remind us of His grace and goodness. He is the One who pursues us, draws us in and blesses us…if we will allow it. So why not give it a shot, whether you choose to build a blanket fort in the living room or enjoy a meal outside in a tent, whether you play the sound of a shofar on YouTube or privately pray the freedom prayers of Psalm 32 and 51.
Just enter in and do something in response to God’s invitation to you to join Him for fellowship, renewal and great celebration. Enjoy!