A Prayer

I enjoy walking. Not the purposeful kind, marching on decidedly to get to a destination, nor the hurried kind when one is late and nearly running in order to make it on time. Not the kind where you have headphones in listening to your favourite track, texting furiously or scrolling absent mindedly on your phone as you take the next step.

But the kind where I get to leisurely stroll, observing people, the sound of birds, a dog barking, cars or kids happily playing in the corner without a care in the world. The kind where I get to notice the gently rays of the sun or welcome a soft breeze. The kind where I get to be in the present, paying attention to nature, sights, sounds and what I am feeling as the world rushes by.

Recently on one of such walks at the start of spring whilst in London, I took in the beautiful pink cherry blossoms on the side of the road, daffodils and other flowers that had started to bloom. I took in the beauty of new beginnings and colour that brightened up the path.

In the midst of this, I noticed a tree that looked quite different to the rest. It was dull brown, and had branches but was very bare with no leaves. It caught my attention and I moved closer wondering whether the tree was dead, and then noticed as I got close, that there were clusters of small orange fruit on the tree. The tree was not barren after all, but was bearing fruit despite not having any leaves.

In that moment I smiled to myself and felt a wave of hope. I felt a prayer on my heart:

No matter how bad things may seem, all is not lost

No matter how dead the situation is, God can still breath life and turn things around

Do not give up

Do not lose hope

Know that you were made for a unique purpose

You blossom, but not at the world's pace nor it's standards

Beauty can still flourish from the most dire situation

Strength and purpose can still rise from the most challenging circumstance

Take heart, and continue to find hope in God

He is the master artist

He makes all things beautiful in his time

Take heart and continue to find hope in God.