I’m not much of a gardener but at this time of year I always look forward to seeing the daffodil push their way through the hard ground. Well, here we are on the last day of January and they’re doing just that! A good sign that spring is nearly here as we look forward to some warmer weather following the plummeting temperatures and record rainfall we’ve had this winter. The weather forecast, however, is not that promising and it looks as if the next few days are going to be much the same. Regardless of this spring is well on the way and that’s something we can all look forward to.
I suppose we can equate the changing seasons to the pattern of life. The Bible says that life is made up of times and seasons and our own experiences can often prove that to be right. Yet as unpredictable as thingsmay seem we can have a real sense of optimism when we believe that God is love and that we are valued by the creator of the universe. It may well feel like winter in our own lives and summer seems a long way off. It’s then we need to remember that the daffodils are just about to bloom and nothing is going to change that!
John Bunyan who wrote the world classic ‘Pilgrim’s Progress’ once said ‘You have not lived today until you are done something beautiful for someone who can never repay you’There’s a ring of truth in that because by helping and supporting thoseless fortunate our problems may well fall into a totally new perspective. Lord Jonathan Sachs, Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations in his New Year’s message said that our future is unpredictable but that we can be the means of bringing light and hope to the lives of others. ‘So, I urge you’ he said ‘to do one totally unpredictable act of kindness in the next twenty-four hours and show someone that the world is a little better than they thought it was going to be.’ In the words of a well-loved song ‘If I can help somebody as I pass along then my living will not be in vain’. In doing so we may well bring spring to others and a great deal of sunshine to our own!
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