Read: “O LORD, how manifold are your works! In wisdom you have made them all; the earth is full of your creatures.” (Psalm 104:24)
Last week I began a short series of thoughts to take us through the summer holidays. We reflected on the quiet significance of endings, as many children, families, teachers and school communities marked the close of another school term.
This week and next, we are thinking about space in two different ways: physical space today, and then emotional, intellectual or mental space next time. Both are refreshing in their own way. Both can help us to breathe more deeply, notice more fully, and enjoy the gifts of God around us and within us.
Psalm 104 celebrates the wonder of creation. It reminds us that the space around us is not empty but shared with the great gifts of God: the physical world itself, and the multitude of living things that fill it. “The earth is full of your creatures,” says the psalmist. It is a world made in wisdom, and we are invited to recognise that wisdom with gratitude and delight.
In these long days, with plenty of daylight, we may have more opportunity than usual to look around. We may notice things we often miss when life is busy or the weather keeps us indoors. We may find space to delight in the grandeur of God’s creation in mountain and valley, or to sense his power at the seashore and on the cliff edge. We may marvel at the activity of wildlife around us or take joy in plants growing wild or carefully cultivated.
The benefits of being outside are now widely acknowledged, but the psalm gives us a deeper reason to cherish them. As we make the most of the summer weather, let us remember that God has given the created world for our good, and entrusted it to our care.
And let us not lose sight of the gift of sheer physical space itself. It gives us room to relax, refresh and regroup, ready for the days that lie ahead.
A Prayer
Loving God, thank you for the wisdom and wonder of your creation, and for the space it gives us to breathe, notice and be renewed. Help us to cherish the world you have made, to delight in the life around us, and to use these summer days to relax, refresh and regroup in your presence. Amen.