Good news for the countryside - Preparing for what’s to come

​About two years ago my fellow columnist, Rev Trevor Boyd of Tobermore and Draperstown Presbyterian Churches, wrote about ‘Ladder Farms’. A quirky local feature of his County Londonderry countryside, they are so called because the hedges that run up the slopes of the Sperrin Mountains near him, mark a field’s boundary and resemble ladders.

Hedgerows are a significant part of our heritage, with some having been a feature of the landscape for hundreds of years. In fact, so important are they, hedgerows have their own ‘National Weeks’ – 6-12 May in the UK and 30 August to 6 September in the Republic of Ireland.

While thousands of miles of hedgerows have been lost over the years, I read that we still have approximately 440,000 miles of them on the island of Ireland – roughly the same distance from the earth to the moon and back!

They are not only an important and practical feature of our countryside, as they divide fields and line narrow lanes, they also denote boundaries, keep livestock safe, and prevent soil erosion, for example. At the same time, they are a rich habitat for different species of wildlife, a place of refuge and a source of food.

This year I have been struck by the number of blackberries on brambles, and haws on spikey hawthorn bushes that entwine and make up our hedges. Not to mention rosehips. Does such an abundance of berries herald and foretell of a harsh winter?

I’ve been brought up to think so, but I don’t really know - but God does, for He is Jehovah Jireh, one of the many Hebrew names for God, which translates to “The Lord will provide,” (Genesis 22:14). Jesus tells us in Luke 12:24, when He is reminding His disciples not to worry about things, to “Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds!” If God can provide for the birds, what will He not do for us?”

In churches across the land, we have over recent weeks been thanking God for a harvest safely gathered in, and for His continued bounty and provision. But God – Jehovah Jireh - provides for our every need in so many different ways.

He carries our burdens (Psalm 68:19), He provides comfort to our broken hearts (Psalm 34:18) and is an ever-present help in times of trouble (Matthew 5:4). He will also give us rest (Matthew 11:28). In the well-known Twenty-Third Psalm, we see an abundance of His provision and protection, even when we walk through the darkest of valleys (v4). But He has also provided us with the most important and precious thing in the whole of the universe – a Saviour.

To know God’s provision, and protection, we need to know His saviour Son, Jesus.

And to know Jesus, we have to repent of our sin and ask for Him for forgiveness, acknowledging Jesus as our Lord and Saviour.

For some, believing Jesus for who He said He is, isn’t easy. It wasn’t easy for Thomas, and he had the advantage of seeing the resurrected Jesus in the flesh. For those of us who haven’t, Jesus tells us, “… blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” (John 20:29). So, having given thanks for the harvest and God’s provision, let us look forward to Christmas and give thanks for the precious gift of His son – harsh winter or not.

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Before coming to live in Belfast nearly 40 years ago, Mark grew up in a village in rural Sussex, coming to Northern Ireland in his late teens. He is a member of Bloomfield Presbyterian Church in east Belfast and the Presbyterian Church in Ireland’s press & media officer.

If you would like to talk to someone about any of the issues raised in this article, please email Rev Kenny Hanna, PCI’s Rural Chaplain at [email protected] or call him on 07938 488 372.