New Hope

Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

There is something particularly special about that first beam of light that touches the glistening, dew covered leaves of the Australian eucalypts. Something refreshing, calming, and incredibly peaceful in that familiar scent - an earthy citrus, so iconic of the Australian bush, amplified somehow by that mysterious condensation that appears with the dawn, sparkling as the light of day spills over across the land as the sun makes its ascent over the horizon.
There is hope in the start of a new day. That refreshing scent of the bush signifying the cleansing that comes with the end of one day and the start of another. The countless shades of green, vivid and vibrant after the long-awaited summer rain, signifying a new beginning. Little bursts of colour - shades of yellow and crimson and every colour in-between - are carefully placed among the foliage, these beautiful Australian wildflowers sparkling as brightly as stars on a dark night, little delights that remind us of the joy that comes with knowing the love of our Creator.
And the sun that shines through the foliage, caressing the face of the majestic banksia, alighting on the perfect curve of the gumnuts, brings with it a promise of new beginnings. Gently bringing each tiny detail into focus, warming each colour carefully painted by the Master Artist, the morning sunshine brings the hope of a new day, a fresh start. Where no matter what the past holds, it will be transformed in the morning in a new way - our Creator using what we wish could be kept in darkness, bringing it into the light and renewing it with a beauty unimaginable.
I love how God uses His Creation as little reminders of His love. A reminder of the hope and the future that He has planned. His blessings are new each and every morning, the rising of another dawn a symbol of the new hope that each new day brings, a future better than anything we ourselves could construct or imagine. Gathering together a collection of foliage, blossom, banksias and gumnuts, a beautiful bouquet of the Australian bush is to me a collection of reminders of this hope - a hope in the beautiful, colourful future He has planned. Like this bouquet, sparkling in the morning sunshine, a future bathed in His warm, loving light.