As I have been walking around our beautiful fields surrounded by puddles and mud, I have been reminded of the wonderful cycle of life.

Our days would be very different if we didn’t experience the contrasts of the seasons.

Without seasons the excitement of seeing new shoots, and the different colouring of flowers as they blossom in their rotation would be significantly diminished.

The seasons of life are equally inspiring, as we move from the early days of survival at the hands of our elders, to learning about the world and how people work, through to understanding better through our own experiences.

As the writer of Ecclesiastes famously wrote, “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to throw away; a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace.”

Our Easter celebrations remind us that Christianity offers real hope and joy through all life’s seasons, but particularly in the face of difficulties and sadness.

The new life Jesus revealed can be a lifeline for us all if we take on board the significance of the events of that first Easter morning.

They remind us that our creative God is a faithful God, who loves us, and renews and rejuvenates time and time again.

Faith and hope in God can help us to feel more positive in the most difficult of times, mirroring the renewal and rejuvenation that takes place each day in the world around us.

So let’s embrace the changes that the seasons bring, as we celebrate Easter’s promise of new life together, and look forward to the warmth of summer days to come.

Rev Tara Hellings

Vicar of Crondall and Ewshot