"The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad, the desert shall rejoice and blossom" (Isaiah 35.1).
Chile's Atacama desert, usually one of the driest places on Earth, is experiencing a rare springtime bloom of flowers after El Niño brought the heaviest rainfall in two decades earlier this year.

Christmas 1940 (extract)
W. H. Auden

Now to maturity must crawl that child
ln whom the old equations are reversed
For that is cause which was effect before,
Now he must learn for what he has been nursed
That through his self-annulment the real world
Of self-enduring instants may endure
Its final metamorphosis and pass
Into visibility at last.

Psalm 85 sung in Scots Gaellic by Clare Ross in 1985 to the tune "Sollas" by Alex Muir. The pictures are from around Sollas on North Uist.

Prayer

Ever present God, help us to be mindful of your Spirit within, between and around us, as we live and move and have our being. Guide our conversations; travel with us on our journeys; support us in times of trouble; enliven our times of celebration; and assist us in our efforts to fulfil your mission. (ABM)