Guided by Her Light

I don’t know if anyone else experiences this, but every year, around the time the seasons start changing, I get this feeling I can’t quite explain.

It’s not really a specific memory. It’s more like a feeling that takes me back to another time in my life.

And every year, without fail, it happens.

Sometimes it’s the way the morning sunlight looks on my drive to work. Sometimes it’s the way the light comes through my office window and hits my computer screen. Other times, it’s just something about the air.

And suddenly, there it is.

That familiar feeling.

For a split second, it’s almost like I’m somewhere else. Somewhere I haven’t been in years.

And I love it.

It’s peaceful. It’s comforting. It makes me smile.

The funny thing is, I live in Florida.

And if you’ve ever experienced October in Florida, you know we don’t exactly do fall the way the rest of the country does.

Sometimes I look out my window and everything looks like it should be a beautiful, crisp autumn day. The sunlight has that softer, golden look. The sky looks different. Everything outside practically screams fall.

Then I remember where I live.

It’s hot as hell out there.

The view says October in the mountains. The thermometer says welcome back to the swamp.

Honestly, sometimes I wonder what it would be like to live somewhere where the temperature actually matches what I’m seeing through the window.

Imagine that. Looking outside, thinking it feels like fall, and then walking out the door to discover that it actually does.

What a concept.

But even with Florida’s identity crisis when it comes to seasons, there’s something about this time of year that gets me every single time.

It takes me back to a particular chapter of my life. A time filled with people, routines, and ordinary days that I remember fondly.

There’s someone from those years who deserves a story of his own, and I’ll share that one another day.

But this isn’t really about one person or one particular memory.

It’s about how something so simple can bring back the feeling of an entire time in your life.

And isn’t that funny?

We go through our days doing ordinary things, never really thinking about how those moments might stay with us.

Then years later, a certain kind of sunlight, a familiar smell, or a change in the breeze brings it all rushing back.

Not necessarily the details.

Just the feeling.

I noticed it yesterday while driving to work. Then again when I was sitting at my desk. And today, looking out my office window, there it was again.

That same familiar, happy feeling.

It only lasts a few seconds, but I always enjoy it when it shows up.

I don’t know exactly why it happens. And I don’t particularly care to analyze it.

Some things are just nice the way they are.

I like that something as ordinary as the way sunlight falls through a window can make me smile about days I haven’t thought about in years.

I like that certain times of year seem to carry their own collection of memories.

And I like that those memories can show up unexpectedly, right in the middle of an otherwise ordinary workday.

It makes me wonder how many other people experience this.

Maybe for you it’s the first genuinely cool morning of fall. Maybe it’s the smell of rain, the sound of a particular song, or the way the afternoon sun comes through your kitchen window.

Something small that brings back a feeling you didn’t even realize you remembered.

Whatever it is, I hope it makes you smile.

Because sometimes a memory doesn’t need to teach us anything, remind us of something we’ve lost, or make us wish things were different.

Sometimes it’s just a happy little visit from another time.

And I think that’s pretty wonderful.

Now, if Florida could just figure out how to make the temperature match the view, we’d really be onto something.