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Holding up the walnut leaves I've brought, I ask the assembled children, "Does anyone know what kind of tree these are from?"

"Eucalyptus," Jerry suggests with a broad grin. He's one of the older children. I recognize his desire to emphasize that fact with his use of a strange, big word.

"Now that's a clever guess," I respond. "In fact, I think the eucalyptus tree does have leaves similar to this; but these are not eucalyptus leaves."

"Pine!" Mike then offers. He's too young to know that pine trees have needles.

"That's a good guess, Michael, but these leaves aren't from a pine tree either. Actually, they came off a walnut tree. An interesting thing about the walnut tree is that it is the last tree to get its leaves in the spring and the first one to lose them in the fall. Has anyone noticed anything special about these leaves?"

"Some of them are yellow," Amanda announces.

"That's right," I agree. "Some are still green, but some of them have turned yellow. After they change color, what will happen next?"

"They'll fall off," Dylan replies.

"So you're telling me that after a period of time all the leaves will fall off the tree?" I question. Dylan nods agreement.

"Let's look at these leaves a little more closely for a moment," I suggest. "Can everyone see the holes?" I hold the leaves up so that light makes the holes more evident. "It looks like insects have been making quite a meal off these leaves, doesn't it? And the edges of some of the leaves have been tattered and torn by the wind. These leaves look a bit worn out -- kind of like a favorite pair of jeans that you wear a lot. When you wear your clothes out, what do you do?"

"Go get new ones," several young voices answer at once.

"So, what's the walnut tree going to do since its leaves are wearing out?"

"Get new ones?" Becky asks.

"Yes, after passing through the winter, the tree will get new leaves in the spring. But, if it didn't let go of the old leaves, there would be no room for the new ones. Now, as far as I know, trees don't think. But if they did ... If trees actually KNEW that they were going to have to let go of their leaves in the fall and stand bare-branched against the cold of winter, trusting that they would get new leaves in the spring, don't you think that might be a little scary?

"You know, we face changes in our lives every day, and sometimes change is scary for us because we don't know what will happen; we don't know what to expect. How many of you are going to go to school on Tuesday?" Many hands go up in reply.

"Are any of you going to school for the very first time?" I continue. Two children raise their hands.

"Wow! That's a big change for you!" I note. "And, the rest of you who are going back to school, I suppose you're going to return to the same grade as last year?"

"Of course not!" Mike snickers.

"Well, what if you did go back to the same class? What if you never changed grades?" I ask.

"You'd never grow up," Melinda wisely observes.

"Ahhhh ... So we must make changes in our lives in order to grow up. You're right, Melinda. Sometimes the changes life brings are small. Sometimes they're big -- like changing schools, getting a new brother or sister, moving to a new city. Whether the changes are big or small, we have to trust that they will work out for the best. One way we get the courage to trust is knowing that there is something which never changes, no matter what: God's love for us. No matter what changes life brings, you can always count on God's love.

"God set the sun and moon and stars in motion. God set the earth turning which causes the changing seasons. God made trees to grow and change with those seasons. God made each of you to grow and change too. God has something very special in mind for every one of you. So, whatever changes life brings, remember God is with you through them. You can count on it!"