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Fall by Lindsay Kyle The little girl, not much older than five, sees the pile of leaves under a tree in the distance. A curious grin spreads across her face. Joy. She runs, long and knotty brown hair flying wildly behind her. She dives into the pile of golden yellows and burnt, orange-red leaves, giggling madly. Totally abandoned. 'Daddy! Look!' Hearing her call, the man who has been watching scoops the little girl up into his arms. She has grabbed leaves along the way, and they fly everywhere, surrounding them. She is still laughing, spinning and spinning in her father's safe and knowing arms. ' You are beautiful!' he laughs, clutching tightly to his prize. As I listen to her giggles of delight, I think about the woman she will someday become. What will happen to her when the world begins to tell her she's lac'king? What will happen when she is no longer nestled in the arms of her father, hearing his words of comfort and truth? The little girl will begin to believe that her thighs are too big, that a size 10 just won't cut it if she wants to make it in this world, that she just needs to try harder. Someone might actually tell her that her father was sadly mistaken, that she's not beautiful. Haven't I believed that? Yet I watch the little girl marveling at the abundant color falling around her, and I can hear my Father's voice. 'You are beautiful. You are lovely. Creation is not complete without you.' And I smile. For a moment, I can watch the little girl and her father play. For a moment, I can believe the voice of God's Spirit inside of me. I can fall into it and pray I never leave the moment. But on this side of heaven, when fall leaves blow away and new life eventually comes in spring, I can be thankful that God can remind me of who I really am through the laughter of a little girl.