Bedford Salvation Army
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Friday 15th May - Marlene

One of the blessings of this lock-down period has been the opportunity to go for a daily, long walk in the country park where I live.  I am truly grateful that I have been well and fit enough to take full advantage of the enforced rest as I am fully aware that this isn't the case for so many people whose experiences of this time will be vastly different.

As in all of life there will have been positive and negative experiences for us all but in this short 'pause' I want to focus on my moments of uplift gifted to me through nature.

The sights and sounds of Spring are unmistakable.  There's nothing quite like the sound of the song of the skylark soaring into the blue sky.  My soul soars with it.  The gradual opening of the buds, the cacophony of bird song, the time spent watching a swan diligently building its nest while being supervised by a heron and the sheer sense of oneness with the natural world lifts me upwards to the spiritual realm.  As I walked the other day I heard the cuckoo for the first time this season - its unmistakable call announcing its arrival.  Sadly, a call that seems not to act as a warning to the poor unsuspecting little host who will sacrifice one of its own to accommodate the offspring of the interloper.  The little bird will incubate, then nurture the uninvited guest with all the care that it gives to its own.

It may be an obscure comparison but this lesson from nature directed my thinking to the sacrificial love and care of my creator to me, his created one and most definitely invited.  This period of enforced rest has given me the time to think and reflect- to put my spiritual roots down deeper, refocusing and hopefully gaining strength to resume my God given tasks when times change.  For many, however, this spring may have felt more like winter - not in terms of the physical climate but rather in terms of the characteristics we might associate with it.  Winter can be cold, harsh, bring ill health, loneliness, isolation and depression and, in these days, for so many people, bereavement and loss.  

It's easy to become trapped in such circumstances, unable to find a way out and not understanding the twists and turns on the way.  Through all of our life we have to burst through our doubts and fears, as the buds burst through after their winter dormancy, believing that there are better and greater times to come.  In the words from scripture 'See! The winter is past; the rains are over and gone.  Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come'. (Song of Songs 2: 11-12)

As we pray, let us thank our Heavenly Father for the delights of spring and the reassurance of new life.  May we continue to be inspired, instructed and guided as we look to our creator for the way ahead.  May we take courage and confidence from the knowledge that this is His world and He will always be with us in our Autumns, Winters, Springs and Summers.

Salvation Army Songbook 66

This is my Father's world, and to my listening ears
All nature sings and round me rings the music of the spheres.
This is my Father's world, I rest me in the thought
Of rocks and trees, of skies and seas;
His hand the wonders wrought.

This is my Father's world, the birds their carols raise,
The morning light, the lily white, declare their maker's praise.
This is my Father's world, He shines in all that's fair,
In the rustling grass, I hear Him pass
He speaks to me everywhere 

This is my Father's world; O let me ne'er forget
That though the wrong seems oft so strong, God is the ruler yet.
This is my Father's world, the battle is not done;
Jesus who died shall be satisfied 
And earth and heaven be one.