The Seasons Turning

 

Someone said to Ina a few days ago that the rhythm of the natural world had become more important to her than ever.   I know exactly what she means.   Just this week we have been given possible dates and plans for coming out of the different stages of lockdown, but there are many caveats.  And then there is our experience of setbacks and changed plans over the last year.  I know my heart sank when I heard how long we have to wait till we can see family again. And of course there is a certain level of trauma or betrayal when it comes to trusting dates given by our well- meaning governments.      

Beneath all this though the earth is slowly turning and we are moving closer to the sun again and spring is edging her glorious way into our gardens and parks, hills and valleys.  Well, at least winter is slowly withdrawing, but she’s never gone till she’s gone and March could still hold a surprise or two, just like two years ago!    When so much is uncertain the fragile heads of snowdrops and now crocuses pushing their way into the air remind us that some things do not change.  The seasons can be depended on to appear and we are encouraged to trust that somehow we will find a new rhythm to life beyond this rather nightmarish period.

There have been remarkable examples of nature reclaiming man made areas.  One of the best known is the area around Chernobyl where 35 years on from the nuclear disaster eagles, lynx, wolves, wild horses and other endangered species have returned.  Again and again we see the deep processes of the natural world bringing healing and a new stability, for example after the Asian tsunami, or forest fires in Australia or even volcanic eruptions.   Disruptive and cataclysmic events are somehow enfolded into the natural world’s ongoing story becoming chapters that lead to new beginnings in the forward momentum of the world.

I do believe our current crisis will be similar and that our hope lies not only in good political and economic decisions allied with applied science and tech, but also valuing the goodness of the earth and humbly learning from how nature recovers from catastrophe.    Part of that is patience, allowing time for proper health and restoration, being kind to ourselves as we emerge out of the long tunnel of 2020/21.  It is also appreciating that we are part of something bigger, animals and plants in an ecosystem, humans in community, and that we can’t thrive individually until the whole is also healthy. For us this not only means worldwide vaccinations, but also within the UK that so many people and families on the verge of destitution by the impact of the pandemic will not be left behind.

And trusting in a God who brought this world into being, who called it ‘good’ and blessed it with the rhythm of the seasons and the amazing re- generating properties of nature.  

As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes forth from my mouth; it will not return to me empty.   You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and the hills will burst into song before you.   Isaiah 55: 10/11.