Autumn

Let it never be said that I am so absorbed in the hunt for a pastorate that I have no time to stand and stare. This autumn has, for whatever reason, clothed our trees in particularly brilliant colours. I've been enjoying it hugely. Last week I spent a few days in Llandudno, North Wales, and made a beeline for my favourite spot in that area, Bodnant Gardens. The sights that greeted me there were breathtaking: the intense red of the leaves of the acer trees; the bright yellow of some of the other foliage; the hydrangea flowers which had not yet turned pale and whose intense blue contrasted pleasingly with these other colours.

Some folk tell me they don't like autumn because it reminds them of the end of life. The old leaves surviving from the summer become brittle, ready to fall from the trees once a stiff wind blows. How like human frailty, the downhearted ones imagine! Yet I am encouraged and moved when I meet people in the twilight of life who seem constantly rejuvenated and refreshed in spirit. Something in us may die, yet we live:

"... genuine, yet regarded as impostors; known, yet regarded as unknown; dying, and yet we live on; beaten, and yet not killed; sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything" (2 Corinthians 6:8-10, NIV).

No doubt in days of economic hardship many my age are contemplating a premature end to their working lives. Old landmarks and life patterns are being swept away. At times the alarm and anxiety this generates affects even me. Yet the one who accepts Jesus as Saviour knows mercies which are new every morning. I am glad God has given me many opportunities to preach and share in this waiting time. I can use them to share the truth that He allows His children to blossom where they might have been expected to fade. Autumn colour is not deceptive; it really is a time for hope.