Faith in the Future

As I say every year at this time, I think Autumn is my favourite of the four seasons! My own childhood memories of shuffling down the road through ankle-deep leaves make me smile as I see children doing exactly the same thing in the Romsey Memorial Park!

One thing I am looking forward to during autumn is a visit to Sir Harold Hillier Arboretum as the leaves, especially of the Maple trees, become orange and red before falling to the ground, making a really beautiful sight! There is one tree (I’ve just found out it is a ‘swamp cypress’) in the area of the pond that was absolutely stunning last autumn shrouded in its scarlet cloak.

Autumn signifies to me a time when God’s creation prepares to rest after using so much energy over spring and summer. Over winter, plants and trees become dormant and gather strength for new growth, and the cycle of sleep and new growth begins again.
The potential for new growth is no more evident, I think, than in flower bulbs. They look pretty lifeless in their dry brown flaky skin. Again, at Hillier’s Garden Centre, there have been many different species and varieties of flower bulbs available over the past month in particular. Just this week I purchased our annual ‘Amaryllis’ (we have quite a few from years past!) to plant and grow in the hope that it flowers in time for Christmas.

As you may know, ‘Amaryllis’ can be found in supermarkets and shops as very large bulbs which you plant half-in, half-out of a pot of compost. In the warmth and with a bit of watering, soon the tip of what will be a flower bud emerges from the bulb which then ‘reaches for the ceiling’! Then, around twelve weeks after planting the bulb, maybe up to four spectacular flowers break out, of beautiful rich red, or pure white, or many other colours.

The poet Edgar Guest wrote of how people looked forward to seeing the splash of colour of flowers in spring as they plant bulbs in autumn:

Last night he said the dead were dead

And scoffed my faith to scorn;
I found him at a tulip bed
When I passed by at morn.

"O ho!" said I, "the frost is near
And mist is on the hills,
And yet I find you planting here
Tulips and daffodils."

"'Tis time to plant them now," he said,
"If they shall bloom in Spring";
"But every bulb," said I, "seems dead,
And such an ugly thing."

"The pulse of life I cannot feel,
The skin is dried and brown.
Now look!" a bulb beneath my heel
I crushed and trampled down.

(Verse 1-4 Edgar Guest 1881-1959 (public domain)

Well one bulb met with a sticky end it seems! But this poem speaks of faith too – the faith that assures us that no matter how bleak and ‘frosty’ life may seem, no matter how ‘numb’ we may feel because of our experience of life, our God of Creation promises wonder and beauty and new life, not far away, just around the corner. As with growing so many things, waiting and patience are required, as difficult as this is sometimes!

As unpredictable as our life is at the moment, there is one thing we can depend upon – the never-broken cycle of the seasons with assured new growth and beauty of Creation every year! Thanks be to God. Amen

Book your space between Thursday-Saturday lunchtime for next Sunday’s service with Revd Mike. Doors open 10.15am, service starts at 10.45am; masks must be worn. If you are unable to join us in person, we look forward to welcoming you, if possible, on Zoom. 

Also, let Mike know if you have particular prayer requests (for yourself or others) in these challenging and uncertain times and  If you would like to contribute a prayer, poem or reflection for the weekly Sunday service outline.