Welton

28
Welton NEWS
ST. MARY’S CHURCH NEWS
Looks like rain!
“Yes, but you’re still charging £3.50 a
pint for it!” as the old gag goes. I know
we need the rain, but I am heartily fed
up with getting wet every time I venture
into the garden. The ‘Gardeners’ Hokee-
Kokee’ (you get your lawn-mower out,
you put your lawn-mower in; you know
the rest!) every time the heavens open
has lost its novelty value and the jungle
that was once the front lawn could
be hiding anything from giraffes to
dinosaurs, though mercifully the most
exciting critter discovered to date was a
large, slightly surprised, frog.
I enjoy my garden, though I wouldn’t
presume to call myself a gardener.
I’m more of a weed-worrier, but I can
dream. I sometimes think gardening
is God’s way of keeping me out of
trouble at weekends by finding work
for my idle hands before anybody else
does! Certainly gardening is the first
job mentioned in the Bible: The Lord
God took the man and put him in the
Garden of Eden to till it and keep it
(Genesis 2.15).
After a long day working in the garden,
there is something satisfying about
sitting on a bench, smelling the lavender
and listening to the bees. Sadly, as we
put up our brollies, yet again, we must
remember that our ‘green and pleasant
land’ is entirely dependent upon the
rain; without it, the wonderful green
spaces around us quickly become dry
and parched.
Mind you, it is possible to have far
too much of a good thing. Noah and
his family knew only too well the
devastation caused by ‘forty days and
nights’ of rain and I am certain that all
those elsewhere affected by the terrible
flooding of recent winters have a fair
idea, too. However, we can take heart
from Scripture. After the waters had
receded, leaving Noah literally ‘high
and dry’, God gave His unconditional
promise never again to flood the Earth:
“I establish my covenant with you, that
never again shall all flesh be cut off by
the waters of a flood, and never again
shall there be a flood to destroy the
earth.” (Genesis 9.11)
The rainbow, of course, serves to remind
us of that promise.
Water is absolutely vital - ask any
farmer - and so we should remember
to give thanks to God for both the rain
and the life that it brings. However, it
is also good to celebrate the beauty of
creation, which is all around us if only
we trouble to stop and look. We offer
thanks every autumn for our harvests,