Doesn’t the countryside look rather bare at the moment? Hedgerows are leafless, fields seem empty, and much of the colour has drained away. And yet, of course, we know that life hasn’t stopped. Beneath the soil, roots are beginning to grow, insects are sheltering, and birds are quietly surviving on what the land provides. Much of what keeps life going at this time of year is hidden. Nature is full of different ways of living alongside one another.
Have you noticed – human life is similar? Sometimes we can manage things on our own, sometimes we need other people, sometimes if we have other people or another person with us, things work better.
One of the enduring things about our Christian faith is it was never meant to be managed alone. Sometimes we give, sometimes we receive but we are together. What strikes me most about our community is how much of what sustains community life is unseen. Lifts given and received. meals dropped off, messages sent, worries listened to, people quietly checking in on one another. It goes on all the time under the surface. Like the hidden work in winter soil, these small acts rarely draw attention to themselves, but they matter much more than we often realise.
Thank you for caring!
Blessings
Maggie