A thought for Summer, by Circuit Superintendant Rev. Jo Archer-Siddall
One of my favourite verses in scripture is Luke 2:19 – “Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart”.
The definition of ‘treasure up’ is to ‘to hold or keep as precious, to cherish, or to collect and store up (something of value) for future use. To ‘ponder’ is to think about something carefully, especially before making a decision or reaching a conclusion.
I believe we are called as followers of Jesus to do this in life, with life. Surely only then will we have life in all its fullness. We won’t have missed – or misunderstood, or misinterpreted, or misled. We will treasure up the present and ponder the riches of this life as we move forward. How we have ‘treasured up’ and how much we have ‘pondered’ perhaps enables us to move forward gracefully. How we do this may well influence our journey through life – is it a trudge, a plod, a run… or a dance?
We can miss so much. Another year, another birthday, another school term…. and life.. can pass us by.
Perhaps we all need to pause more. To contemplate more. To bend down and smell the flower, to count the ladybird’s spots or to rescue the trapped bee. To stroke the dog, to put the baby bird back in its nest, to feed the hedgehog.
Perhaps we need to spend more time in the garden, or in the park or by the river.
My prayer is that the Summer of 2019 is one where every moment is treasured up – and we ponder these things: - the breeze, the fields, the laughter, the rain, the sunshine – and we treasure up and ponder with those we are blessed to share them with. And may we dance towards Autumn rather than plod or trudge, knowing He is with us in it all. He invites us to the Summer dance.