 October – traditionally a time of celebrating the harvest and the abundance of food from the land. A glorious time, when we acknowledge God as the source of all our good. This year, you may have noticed that there is an abundance of fruits and nuts in the hedgerows. Everywhere I walk I see apples and acorns on the ground, blackberries in the bushes. The term given to this abundance of food is MAST. It happens when the bushes and trees produce more food than the wildlife can eat. Interestingly, this is most obvious after a year of struggle. Because of the severe lack of rain this year, it put the trees and shrubs under pressure. With the threat of extinction, they over-produced food to ensure their ongoing species survival. Why is this relevant to me, you may ask? Here are my thoughts … When life is hard for us, we may struggle to cope or understand why this is happening. We may pray that the problem ceases as we do not want to struggle or have a hard life. Yet it is often through our challenges that we grow. We are called to dive deeper into our self – to seek out that which we recognise we need to let go of (old ideas and beliefs) and connect with that within us that is good and true: The God-principle, the inner Christ-energy potential, that we often take for granted and only call upon when life is hard. Can you relate to that? Can you think of a time when you struggled with something, yet looking back now, can see that the situation helped you grow in understanding of who are you and how God in you, came through? If life was always easy, we would not experience these times of growth and indeed richness of living. This is what Jesus, as our way-shower in Unity, came to show us. Jesus said, “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” (John 10:10) This in the story of Jesus as the Good Shepherd. When we keep Jesus, who lived his Christ potential so radiantly, as the example for us to follow; as we place God first in our minds and hearts, with us always; as we shepherd our own thoughts, this abundant life can be ours. So, let us be grateful for the abundance of our harvest this year. And let us also know that when we are challenged to grow – it is simply that. Time to let go of outdated beliefs and take a step upward and inward. Time to build our faith and know that God is with us, with you, always. From this deepening awareness, our abundance flows. Rev Kimerie Mapletoft Director of Silent Unity and Daily Word UK
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