God’s Kaleidoscope

Hooray for carotenoids and anthocyanins! Those may not be the words you usually associate with fall, but if you love the vibrant colors of autumn, then you love carotenoids and anthocyanins. These are groups of pigments that are responsible for the stunning yellows, oranges, reds, purples, and blues of the fall foliage we look forward to seeing each year. During the spring and summer months, the chlorophylls reign supreme and paint the world green, but, for a few short months before the drabness of winter, the lesser known pigments take the stage. When I look up to a sunny, blue sky, peering through the leaves of trees adorned in their most colorful finery, I am reminded of a kaleidoscope’s stunning arrays of brilliant and endless patterns.

Why do the leaves change color in the fall? It’s really an incredible series of chemical, physical, and biological processes. I have always been amazed at the abilities of mankind to decipher the mechanisms driving such processes as photosynthesis, cellular respiration, color change in leaves, and the list could go on and on. But I am blown away by the powers of our God that put these processes in motion! “For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods. In his hand are the depths of the earth; the heights of the mountains are his also. The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land.” (Psalm 95: 3-5)

So, now I’ll get back to those pigments I mentioned earlier. Pigments are chemical compounds that absorb certain wavelengths of light and reflect others. They are responsible for the colors we see in flowers, corals, fruits, leaves, and even the skins of animals, and those colors come from the particular wavelengths of light that are reflected by the pigments. The chlorophyll pigments reflect mostly green light and are the prominent pigments during the spring and summer months. These pigments, along with the carotenoids, are photosynthetic pigments and both types are present during a plant’s growing season. Their job is to trap energy from sunlight to be used in making food for the plant. The carotenoids produce yellow, orange, and brown colors, but we don’t see these leaf colors in the spring and summer months. Why? Because the carotenoids are masked by the chlorophylls – until that magical time when summer transitions to fall.

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Chlorophyll breaks down rapidly, so it is constantly being produced during the summer months to maintain the levels needed for the plant to produce its food (sugars). The signal for chlorophyll production to slow and eventually stop in deciduous trees is when the nights begin to grow longer in the fall. Once the chlorophyll production stops and the remaining chlorophyll decays, the carotenoids get their chance to shine! Because carotenoids are always present in the leaves (just masked), the yellowish leaf colors we see in the fall (after chlorophyll production stops) stay pretty constant from year to year and aren’t affected as much by external factors.

But what about those anthocyanins? These pigments provide us leaves with gorgeous shades of red, blue, and purple, and their production can be altered by various environmental influences. Whenever fall arrives and winter is fast approaching, there is much more happening in the leaves of deciduous trees than just the halting of chlorophyll production. The leaves are actually preparing to die and fall from the tree, because the leaf tissues of broad-leaf trees are too tender to survive the freezing conditions of winter. For the leaves to die, the veins that carry fluids to and from them gradually become blocked, and sugars (plant food) become trapped in the leaves. The trapped sugars lead to the production of anthocyanins. Not all trees, however, produce these pigments. Temperate regions have fewer trees capable of anthocyanin production.

So why are some years better than others for spectacular fall foliage? It mostly has to do with whether or not anthocyanins are produced, and abundant sunshine is necessary for their production. Also, the temperatures at night need to be cool, but not freezing, because freezing temperatures would stop the process that produces these pigments. So, lots of cloudy days in the fall or an early freeze could lead to a less colorful display of leaves. Another factor that can affect fall color is soil moisture. A summer dry spell could cause leaves to shed early, even before chlorophyll production has stopped. I guess you could say that autumns are like snowflakes, because no two are exactly the same.

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Believe it or not, that was a condensed version of how we get the colors of fall! God’s handiwork is incredible! We see the beautiful results and never think about the intricate details and delicate processes at work. Like a kaleidoscope transforms random buttons, beads, or glass pieces into endless, symmetrical, appealing patterns, God transformed nothingness into an ordered world and gave symmetry to what was once without form. “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep.” (Genesis 1:1) From the creation to the flood and throughout the history of the Israelites and the birth, death, and resurrection of Christ, God has continued to provide us with order and symmetry with his perfect plan. We don’t always see how God is working in our lives at a particular time, but we can rest assured that he is. Romans 4 tells us that Abraham “grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. That is why his faith was ‘counted to him as righteousness.’ But the words ‘it was counted to him’ were not written for his sake alone, but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.” (Romans 4:20-25)

When leaves die, fall from the trees, blow in the wind and cover the ground, God is in control. His plan is in motion. The same is true when it feels as if our lives are spiraling out of control like leaves in the wind. Take a moment to look through God’s kaleidoscope and find the beautiful order and pattern in his plan for us all. “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ – by grace you have been saved – and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared before hand, that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:4-10)

“Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.” (Revelation 4:11)

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SOURCES

• https://www.fs.usda.gov/visit/fall-colors/science-of-fall-colors#:~:text=Both%20chlorophyll%20and%20carotenoids%20are,plant%20sugars%20within%20leaf%20cells.
• http://www.naturenorth.com/fall/colors/Fcolor.html
• https://www.treesatlanta.org/news/pigments-weather-and-autumn-color/
• https://science.howstuffworks.com/kaleidoscope.htm#:~:text=Your%20Own%20Kaleidoscope-,Kaleidoscopes%20Explained,V%2Dshape%20or%20a%20triangle.&text=A%20collection%20of%20objects%20is,eyehole%20at%20the%20other%20end.