It doesn’t seem possible that it’s June already! To me, it’s a month of contrasts with lots of family birthday celebrations but also echoes of the solemnity of examinations. It’s about celebrating long evenings and the shortest night.
It’s a time of transition as, from the end of the month, days begin to shorten even though the holiday season is just beginning. It’s about the end of festival activity in the churches and getting on with the ordinary business of living and finding God in our lives.
It’s a season of spending time outside, enjoying nature – finding God in the beauty and simplicity of flowers – filling our inner spiritual hunger for His presence.
I read a newspaper article recently entitled ‘Easy ways to find instant calm’. The last suggestion was written by Anji Gopal and she says that we should look at something green. Apparently, evidence suggests that colour calms the mind, particularly if it’s nature you’re looking at. Even if you are looking at something green from a distance. It’s always intrigued me that there are so many different hues of green and how they blend together rather than clash.
Even though the word ‘green’ has been sabotaged by a political party and by environmental concerns, God calls us to ‘Go green’. To look on the wonderful world He has made, especially at this time of year when everything is maturing and verdant, bursting out all over and drink in His goodness towards us. He loves us and cares for us so much that even the colour He made the world to flourish with has the ability to calm our spirits.
What an amazing God we have!