A Falling Leaf

I am one among millions,

My life nearly done,

My summer has passed

And my autumn begun;

I long to be Home

With my Saviour on high,

But still, I am here,

To live or to die.

My skin’s become wrinkled,

Can’t do what I could,

My memory is failing,

My eyesight’s not good,

For now I have passed

That three score and ten,

The milestone that’s set

By God for all men.

There’s a beauty in autumn

For all eyes to see,

The ravages of winter

Bring spring on the tree,

The glories of summer

Too soon pass and fade,

Fallen leaves, wizened seeds,

Decay fills the glade.

But those seeds are the future

Of the foliage to come,

Autumn leaves form the debris

Of a new life begun

While’er we have breath,

There’s a purpose in life:

A legacy in fallen leaves,

Vested in the wise.

The leaf in spring and summer

Gains its life from sap and dew,

Receiving all the time,

Making energy anew;

But autumn brings a change of heart,

It’s not now take but give,

Its very life is sacrificed

That future sons might live.

The years we have remaining are

A special chapter of our lives,

We’ve made mistakes, we’ve learned a lot,

It’s time to sacrifice,

Give all we have for those we leave,

Whether little or much it be,

This phase of life is to give all we have

As a falling leaf from a tree.

We may not preach to thousands,

Touch the lives of millions abroad,

But Jesus said, “As done to the least,

You’ve done it to Me, your Lord!”

As we live what’s left of our lives each day,

Loving God with all our heart,

We may only live to touch one lost soul,

But give them a fresh new start.

A smile, some small encouragement,

Or maybe just being there,

A shoulder a friend can cry on

A word of wisdom to bear,

Or just a heart that loves Jesus,

Shedding fragrance all around,

An atmosphere of love and peace

Where respite can be found.

We may just sit in the background,

Forgotten by all that pass by,

They know not our pain and our suffering,

But let’s lift our eyes to the sky,

Fix our eyes on Jesus, our Saviour,

Come closer to Him every day,

With a peace that sheds light and joy all around

To any who may come our way.

Let us not despise our twilight years,

We have so much to give,

They may become the best years of our lives,

Give our lives that others might live;

We may not be the centre and soul

Of the party anymore,

But we can bequeath an inheritance rich

As we fall as a leaf to the floor.