The days have shortened and the nights have lengthened. But fireworks can light up the sky from gardens.

Autumn is here. Leaves are falling from the trees. For those blessed with gardens, we sweep, rake and compost. Hopefully we can continue our walks scuffing the leaves from the paths along our way. The leaves have done their job from being the ‘darling buds of May’, growing into a canopy over our heads in summer, and now giving colour to our borders, hedges and woods, to leave the trees bare through the winter – asleep before springing into life.

Leaves don’t flourish on their own. We know they are dependent on their host tree, bush or plant. We humans are all dependent on the Tree of Life. For believers, God is the Tree of Life, from the Garden of Eden, and giving us knowledge of good from evil.

But today so many people are blown all over the place. We no longer have a certainty in being able to pay the bills dropping through the letterbox, finding we have a job, with a wage to pay the mortgage, or feed our families and stay healthy.

In these troubled and fearful times, Christians know we need to be rooted, grafted or grounded into a God who alone knows what is going on in His world, to give us some stability of how we shall get through the stormy times ahead.

The buzz word through suffering, and endurance, is HOPE, for it does not disappoint us, as Paul tells readers in his New Testament letter to the Romans. Hope helps us to look up, away from our screens, to plan for better times ahead with faith and not fear, doing good for others, checking the neighbours are okay, and staying in contact with friends and families have strong mental health benefits.

Wellington Park has recently been awarded its Green Flag, so if you take a walk along a tree-lined path, talk to the trees, especially the handkerchief tree, who knows what whisper of calm you will receive as we embrace the beautiful world of nature around us.

ISABEL WARD