Day 9 - Starting all Over Again

“And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years ...” (Gen 1: 14-19)

When God created the land, seas and the heavens with sun, moon and stars (Gen 1: 14-19) he also set in place time and seasons that were to continue without ceasing in a continual process of endless regeneration. “As long as the earth endures, seed time and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease” (Gen 8: 22).

“Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall”, so said Jordan Baker to Daisy Buchanan in F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel The Great Gatsby, expressing something of how the fruitfulness of autumn prepares the way for the growth we will see again in the Spring. One phase of life ends to make way for another in a never-ending cycle of renewal.

This year our church has been contemplating the topic of “Regeneration”. We drew comparisons from nature: plants and animals on to spiritual principles studying Jesus' illustrations. Our mindfulness reflections on Creation today connect well with the wonder of regeneration taking place all around us in plain sight. As a church we began our worship by thinking about the more spectacular (even bizarre) examples of life on earth and how plants and animals regenerate themselves, e.g. if necessary, starfish can regrow their arms – up to 4 at any one time and a Salamander can detach its tail and regrow a new one. Plants regenerate via seeds, cuttings, leaves, roots and, interestingly, by extensions of themselves as in the strawberry's “runner”. A tiny marine creature can grow a new head!

Humans may not have these abilities but we do renew skin cells in their entirety approximately every 28-35 days (slower as we age) without even being aware of it. The singer and keen gardener, Will Young, said he found his garden “overwhelming” sometimes because there is always so much to do and so much growth. We only need to go away for a couple of weeks to see how our gardens begin rewilding in our absence without any help. Regeneration is an ongoing reality.

Today, let's be aware of the wonder of creation in all its forms. Select something that you can hold (a stone, plant or leaf from outside or a house plant or something indoors made from natural materials) and take a few moments to contemplate and consider it. Ask a few questions: how did it grow? Is it light or heavy? Does it have a smell or sound? Be fully present in this moment and be filled with awe by all you know and all you don't know. Mindfulness can lead us in an easy flow of prayer and praise to God. This principle of Regeneration and Renewal is good news not only for us but for the whole world. In Revelation we read: “He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” (Rev 21: 5). And we can press on with hope when we recall that “... if anyone is in Christ, they are a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (2 Cor 5: 17). Through all seasons of life we are all evolving, growing and changing.

Ruth Leeming