As I write this we have just enjoyed a relatively sunny Sunday in the middle of February at the beginning of the half-term holiday. What a welcome relief from all the rain!
Not far from Derry Hill though there is still a village that has not had a day without rain, so a friend of mine recalls, since the 19th December!
I have been told that the life on land under water for more than four weeks is destroyed and the farmer will need to begin again to tend and till the land when it is eventually exposed so that crops can once again grow productively.
The storms have humbled those who may have thought this would never happen. It has made people who were self-assured think that perhaps they are not as in control of their lives as they thought.
Industry and carefree use of the world’s resources are perhaps just two contributing factors as we work to improve the standard of living.
Water is essential for life. Not one thing can live without water. It is the most precious commodity on the whole earth. And yet, there is so much of it at present that it cannot be controlled. It is everywhere. It is not sinking into the earth to water the tender plants but surfing the tarmac roads and pavements; skimming off roofs; bouncing off massive shopping malls – and it has nowhere to go except into the drainage systems which are overcome. And with nowhere to go the water eventually arrives at the rivers, the rivers overflow and drown the very plants and creatures that are dependent on the water, and also upon which we rely for food and, the farmers a living.
Water is life giving, and yet very destructive when it is out of control.
There is much for reflection as we contemplate the excessive rain and wind experienced here against the droughts that will inevitably come in other parts of the world – if not here over the summer!
Maybe, it is time to review our attitude to water as part of our engagement with God and what has happened over the winter months.
May the Lord bring us fruitful reflection and sunshine in equal measure!
With love.
Reverend Ann