On the day I write this, on the way to the Church, it was -1°C according to the temperature gauge in the car.
But the sun is out and it is a beautiful day.
There are signs of spring everywhere with many bulbs coming to life and are now well above the ground. I’ve even had a few birds looking into the bird boxes in my garden looking for a place to nest soon.
What an amazing world we live in, full of wonder and promise of new life.
New beginnings from a time of cold and harsh conditions.
The hymn All Creatures of Our God and King, has the line ‘life up you voice and with us sing Alleluia, alleluia’ and was written by Giovanni Bernardone, who became known as St Francis of Assisi.
He was the son of a wealthy merchant but, having heard a sermon based on Matthew 10, he gave up his wealth to live a simple life of poverty and service to God.
His love of nature is well documented, and the hymn reflects that beautifully.
The fourth verse says, ‘Let all things their Creator bless, and worship him in humbleness, O praise him, alleluia!’
As we journey through January, with the colder weather, dark days and often difficult economic and financial pressures, let us be a people of hope taking joy from the simple things around us.
It will warm up, the days are getting longer and there are signs of new life all around us in the world that God created for us to enjoy.
Creation and the world around us is doing what it was created to do. What were you created to do?
Captain Jan Howlin from the Wokingham Salvation Army, writing on behalf of Churches Together in Wokingham
