It’s that time of year again. The leaves on the trees turn into beautiful ornaments, gracing the branches in unusual hues. Then they fall through the sky like snowflakes and color the ground where we walk, creating nobler paths beneath our feet.

It’s that time again.

Here is my question—my driving question: Where are you changing colors? Where are you ornamenting your surroundings? And where are you leaving pieces of yourself behind so others can stand on the ground where you’ve been?

In short: How are you like a fall leaf?

God is always renovating our hearts, minds, and souls with His skilled hands. But changing colors gives us a different view of ourselves than a renovation project. It’s about what others see when they look at us. It makes me ask: Where am I getting sweeter? Where am I growing more pleasant to look at—spiritually speaking?

Perhaps it comes through a combination of vulnerability and the plain, powerful work of God’s hand—the Holy Spirit.

To me, this is one of the most beautiful parts of life: seeing people change because of Jesus. I love it. It’s evidence of His grace and a wide, encompassing hug from the Spirit.

This is how I want to be too—vulnerable, in the right contexts and at the right times.

Vulnerability joined with the Holy Spirit’s work makes us sweeter to see. As we open our struggles to others, we become more pleasing to know. We share the Spirit’s power in our lives, for that is how sweet fruit grows. This is one way we ornament our surroundings in the way I’m contemplating this fall: through holy, outward expressions of our change as we walk in dialogue with others.

When we share how the Holy Spirit is working in us, we bless others. Like leaves gracing the sidewalk, our lives can make others’ paths lovelier through the comfort we ourselves receive from the Lord as we grow (2 Corinthians 1:4).

When others share their failures, growth, confessed sins, and change, they exemplify the gospel and remind me that we can be brave in our honesty because God has already declared us righteous. Those who walk in the light want to come into the light so their deeds may be exposed, for the Lord is doing a good work (John 3:20–21).

So let me close by sharing one way the Lord is working in me: joy. I haven’t been a particularly joyful person in recent years. There have been moments of joy, but it hasn’t defined me, I confess. God is showing me that true joy comes only through Him—and that even in difficulty, I can still have joy.

I tend to explore difficult feelings to learn from them and surrender them to the Lord. But I’ve missed this key: to dive into joy at the same time—or even instead of analyzing my problems. I don’t have to wait for every emotional question to settle before I look to joy. Sometimes, problems are best set aside rather than dwelt upon.

So this is my prayer, my little change of hue, the ornamentation of the Spirit in my heart, and the leaf of color I leave in your path today: joy.