As we move from July into August my garden looks drier and drier, the lawn looks more brown than green, and the beautiful flowers have dropped their colourful display, and frankly everything looks a bit of a mess. The field that last year was bedecked with a marquee to hold 140 is now a field of long brown grass.
But sit out there in the early evening, watch the butterflies, hear the bees, listen to the birdsong, and it is evident that this wilderness is brimming with life. There are more than enough seeds to go round.
This reminded me of Matthew 6:25-34 where Jesus is teaching about worry. “look at the birds in the air, they do not sow or reap or store away in barns – God provides everything they need. Look at the flowers in the field, so beautiful without any effort, God clothes them.”
We may spend our energy worrying about things of this world, yet the evidence is all around us of God’s lavish and beautiful abundance. For everything there is a season, and this is the season of “mellow fruitfulness” when we can thank God for his overflowing generosity.
(And I need not worry so much about the weeds in my garden!)