Now is the time for turning. The leaves are beginning to turn from
green to red to orange. The birds are beginning to turn and are heading
once more toward the south. The animals are beginning to turn to storing
their food for the winter. For leaves, birds and animals, turning comes
instinctively. But for us, turning does not come so easily. It takes an
act of will for us to make a turn. It means breaking old habits. It means
admitting that we have been wrong, and this is never easy. It means losing
face. It means starting all over again. And this is always painful. It
means saying I am sorry. It means recognizing that we have the ability
to change. These things are terribly hard to do. But unless we turn, we
will be trapped forever in yesterday's ways. Lord help us to turn, from
callousness to sensitivity, from hostility to love, from pettiness to purpose,
from envy to contentment, from carelessness to discipline, from fear to
faith. Turn us around, O Lord, and bring us back toward you. Revive our
lives as at the beginning, and turn us toward each other, Lord, for in
isolation there is no life.