Summer’s End
Cheerful words from the Met Office today: there are only a few days left of summer.
Next cheery thought: the leaves are already turning because of the heat and our unusually dry weather. This, said the forecaster, is what we call a “False Autumn.”
How jolly. It’ll be Christmas next!
Now then, I do like autumn. The cooler temperatures and colourful garb donned by the trees is a delight to the eyes.
But… so soon?
Our problem may be that the “false autumn” will knock the stuffing out of proper autumn. If all the leaves are crispy and dead already, those complex chemical changes won’t take place. No scarlet, orange and yellow displays. Just brown, and dead. Horrible thought!
One saving grace so far is the appearance of a massive number of rose hips. It’s best crop I’ve ever had on the old climbing rose. Conflict is likely between the birds and the squirrels- but there should be enough to share unless climate change is bringing us an extra cold winter?
On the other hand, at least the British Isles do have seasons that provide variety to life (and the perfect topic of polite stilted conversation). If we didn’t have the weather to moan about, we’d have to talk about important things instead!
We should be grateful for the faithfulness of God, who established a world uniquely fitted to supporting life as we know it. And we should pray for those governments and industries who could either help maintain life- or give in to greed and wreck our home. God’s promise only applies “as long as the earth remains” – but we can take comfort in the knowledge that God is not just creator, but also sustainer and redeemer. We may cause climate change, there will be feasts and famines, but the Lord hasn’t given up on our planet yet- and never will. After all, He did declare it “very good.”
"As long as the earth remains, there will be planting and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night.” - Genesis 8 v22.
The Reflectionary 