Celia Stone: Pumpkins, back to school, football offer fresh start

And just like that, summer 2024 has come and gone. Although it is officially not over until Sept. 22, Labor Day often feels more like the end of the season. The stores are full of pumpkins, gourds and scarecrows with a profusion of orange and gold leaf swags providing a backdrop around almost every corner.

McDonald’s, Dunkin’ Donuts and Starbucks are offering an assortment of pumpkin spice lattes, apple cider donuts, pumpkin muffins, apple croissants, maple sugar bacon breakfast sandwiches and pumpkin pies. It makes many of us feel cozy just thinking about them.

The new school year has begun for everyone from preschoolers to college students. For those looking for a fresh start academically or athletically, now could be the time for a reset. New classes and teachers, pristine backpacks and binders, fresh notebooks and crayons, and a zero-loss record all present promise for good things to come.

Fall and football bring back great memories for me. This weekend we will have Duke at Northwestern, UNC Charlotte at UNC, ECU at Old Dominion, UVA at Wake Forest, Tennessee at NC State, Appalachian State at Clemson, Campbell at Western Carolina, Elon at NC Central and the Carolina Panthers hosted by the New Orleans Saints.

Churches that had an abbreviated summer schedule are back to operating wholly. Sunday school, choir, children’s and youth ministries are in full swing.

In the ultimately hopeful Book of Joel, the second of 12 minor prophets, we see people who want a fresh start after their sin and failings have had negative repercussions. Their confession and repentance lead to God’s mercy, as well as both material and spiritual restoration. Ultimately, God is the source of this reversal of circumstances, sparing judgment on those who turn away from sin and go toward him.

In ancient Israel, the grape harvest took place in July and August, while figs were harvested in late summer to early fall. The prophet Joel’s message of hope even includes a promise that God would restore the years the locusts had eaten. With God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, we always have an opportunity for a fresh start.

“Surely, he has done great things! Do not be afraid, land of Judah; be glad and rejoice. Surely the Lord has done great things! Do not be afraid, you wild animals, for the pastures in the wilderness are becoming green. The trees are bearing their fruit; the fig tree and the vine yield their riches. Be glad, people of Zion, rejoice in the Lord your God, for he has given you the autumn rains because he is faithful. He sends you abundant showers, both autumn and spring rains, as before. The threshing floors will be filled with grain; the vats will overflow with new wine and oil. ‘I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten — the great locust and the young locust, the other locusts and the locust swarm — my great army that I sent among you. You will have plenty to eat, until you are full, and you will praise the name of the Lord your God, who has worked wonders for you.’” Joel 2:20b-26a