After a very wet summer, it’s rather good to be enjoying some mild weather in September as I write this article. It comes as something of a relief after all the rain and offers an opportunity for gardeners (and farmers – albeit on a different scale) to get outside and catch up on a few jobs before the evenings close in. It is just lovely to enjoy all sorts of things growing at this time of year, and the bird song and fresh, damp Autumnal air. It gives us a chance to wonder at just how amazing nature is and how incredibly complex and beautiful each leaf, each flower, each plant is. The more we look the more we notice and admire. I get so inspired but this is not to pretend I’m Percy Thrower or Alan Titchmarsh.

There is a famous story in the Bible when Mary comes to the tomb on that first Easter morning and mistakes Jesus for a gardener. Nobody has ever mistaken me for a gardener! But I hope that when they see me they see something of Jesus. Not that I mean that in a big headed way and I would say just the same about any of us. If we follow Jesus and seek him as the pattern for our own lives then this ought to be obvious in the way we behave, the way we think and the way we deal with those with whom we have to do. We can talk all we like about being Christian but if it doesn’t transform us and appear obvious to those around us then we’ve missed the point.

When we look at the leaves and plants and everything around us we can only marvel at God’s creation; so beautiful and perfect and awe inspiring. And yet each bit of it witnesses to the presence of God and his handiwork. We could learn a thing or two – for we ought to be the same. Happy Harvest!

Will