Dear Friends,
Every year, my mother sends a new ‘Wild Britain’ calendar which is produced by the BBC’s Countryfile TV program. It features the twelve best wildlife or nature photographs with the winner’s also enjoying pole position on the front cover and is hanging in my office. Come and see the beauty of God’s creation.
As the year stretches out before us once more, we might dream of spring and summer while we are held in winter’s cold embrace. But even at this time, when we might think that everything seems icy cold, there is still much to dazzle us, if we are prepared to look and enjoy. The ice and snow crystals whose beauty astounds us on a cold and frosty morning. The blue sky on a clear sunny day. Or perhaps a rare winter bloom that surprises us. Then, there are those buds on bushes and trees which offer so much hope with all their potential wrapped up in tightly folded leaves.
It’s all a wonderful expression of God’s creative brilliance with all its complexity and power for growth and regeneration. The lake in the village where I live is an almost daily walk for me and my dog, and I will never tire of watching the wild geese coming into their graceful landings on the water. I wonder if you have a favorite wildlife scene from your wanderings.
As we begin this new year, let us never forget the Creator who gave us all our beginnings. The first and last verses of Genesis chapter 1 give reason to appreciate and care for all that God has made.
“1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.. . .
31 And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good.” (The King James Version, Bible Gateway)
Pastor Cliff