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Good morning.

The clocks go forward this weekend, officially heralding British Summer Time. Like many people, I do look forward to this event as it coincides with all that is springing back to life in nature. However, one thing that I don’t look forward to is sorting out my back garden.

Springtime means that those unruly weeds that I have never been able to root out, will be rearing their unwanted presence all over the garden. It’s one of those situations that you have to address head on. It just won’t go away - it will only get worse. What’s more every time I find myself looking out of the window and observing the growing chaos, I'll feel worse! You know the ideal scenario would be to have a Mary Poppins like neighbour who took it upon themselves to tidy my garden.

But here’s the thing; once I tidy it up - it looks great, and I can spend hours just gazing on my excellent handiwork - either from the window, or while sitting in the actual garden. Yet I know that if I leave it alone for a while - literally take my eye off the proverbial ball – it will be back to square one with the weeds running amok.

I know that much has been written about chaos being the supposed natural order of things in nature, and that our role is to bring a sense of order to that disorder. With regard to my garden, it's a case of little and often to make sure everything is ordered as opposed to chaotic, despite my natural inclination to leave it to its own devices.

I pray that the Lord will give us the courage to face those things we find difficult, and the patience and persistence to revisit those challenges that reoccur in life.

Amen.