I love walking around Pincents Hill and Oliver’s Copse. It is a little oasis of nature and provides blissful respite from the busy world. We’re increasingly conscious of the healing power of the natural environment and I certainly find renewal walking through these miniature wilds.

I especially enjoy watching goldfinch fledglings learning to forage, hovering kestrels, the blue flash of a passing jay, red foxes skulking through the bramble thickets, butterflies dancing through the grasses, while I speculate on the routes that the badgers take in and out of their setts. Some of these are seasonal treats, but there is always one magnificent spreading oak, and it’s rare to complete a walk without seeing at least one deer. 

I’m concerned that we’ll lose it. I expect that it will eventually become a housing development; consumed by Reading’s relentless suburban appetite. I will mourn the loss of this haven if it’s ever built upon and, sadly, I’m sure it will be.

I find that this is a micro expression of a universal and global phenomenon; things seem to be getting worse. It makes me feel hopeless at times – paradise increasingly lost. Through people’s carelessness and through greed, what is precious and for our good is too often torn up. 

Even the natural world groans as it is subject to cruelty, neglect and decay. It is bound by the curse that we have thrust upon it. Nature is red in tooth and claw, and forsaken and exploited by the very people meant to steward it.

And yet I am hopeful that one day this will all be restored and made new again. Species long lost will be reanimated, ecosystems balanced, boundless flora and fauna delighting in their release. When Jesus returns, the earth will be made new. Creation will be re-created and will enjoy flying, scurrying and scampering in the very presence of its creator.

I am so excited to see the New World. But I am even more excited to see the one who will make it new. I know him, and I love him. His re-creation will extend to me: I will be physically restored, emotionally satisfied and spiritually fulfilled, as I gaze on the glory of my creator.

This hope helps me in times of despair, when injustice is rampant, when I’m powerless to effect any change for good, when all appears to be falling apart, I take comfort in the good nature of my glorious God and his certain promises. 

Jan Broady, Calcot