Saturday, 25 January 2025

The optimist sees the doughnut, the pessimist the hole

Wise people still do seek Jesus to meet Him, worship Him and follow Him as the Great Shepherd of the sheep.

plantcaretoday.com
A prominent winter feature of two hedges visible from our kitchen window is winter jasmine (Jasminum Nudiflorum), with its bright yellow, star-like mass of flowers. It requires other, stronger, but duller, hedge-plants over which to scramble in order to scale the heights and display its cheer - ‘cheer amid drear’ you might say. It is surprisingly resistant to strong winds too – a lesson in survival with cheerfulness, perhaps? The old rhyme springs to mind: ‘Twixt optimist and pessimist the difference is droll: the optimist sees the doughnut, the pessimist the hole!’

As we enter this New Year, there are plenty of ‘holes’ to be seen in the world around us globally, not least the proposed oppressive UK farmland inheritance tax (Micah 2:2), and probably in personal situations too. But opportunities also abound, of attitude, word and deed. Sheep are pregnant with problems, but also with lambs! Fields lie dormant, but many are sown with crops despite some difficult autumn conditions. Realistic hope sees and prepares for ‘holes’ but notes ‘doughnuts’ of promise.

The end of a calendar year and the start of a New Year is always a time to reflect, to ponder, to count blessings as well as to calculate options. Consciously taking time to do this is not a luxury we cannot afford, but rather, it is a necessity we should not miss. I have a favourite walk and bench on which I sit to meditate. Sometimes sheep are nearby ruminating, as all ruminants do. Actually, ‘rumination’ is a better word than simply ‘meditation’, because it implies chewing over ideas and thoughts again and again – mulling things over. Big changes can result while we ruminate – such as the case of Isaac who was ‘out in the field meditating in the evening and saw camels coming’ (Genesis 24:63); one camel was carrying his future wife Rebekah!

Entrepreneurship is a vital skill in farming. It usually involves a creative idea, which is developed into a feasible business. Entrepreneurs are risk-takers. But they take calculated risks. They are not simply wishful thinkers. Time spent planning is not time wasted and some even define ‘planning’ as ‘using time now to save time later’. There are times during the farming season when a certain amount of rush seems inevitable, but even these times can be mitigated by planning. Many who now keep larger flocks of sheep than hitherto owing to the tighter margins per sheep raised and the higher wages of shepherding, divide their flocks at least into two to spread

www.chroniclelive.co.uk
the pressures of lambing time. The first lambs are already here and will arrive during January – all this being aided by clear colour-marking using raddles on the rams in autumn to produce the so-called ‘autumn tints’ to enable sorting of the early-lambing flock from the rest. These early ‘ladies in waiting’ must be accommodated first where housed lambing is practiced. Planning with care is vital.

Wise men on a planned journey sought Jesus as a toddler (Matthew 2:1-12) bringing gold, frankincense and myrrh. Wise people still do seek Jesus to meet Him, worship Him and follow Him as the Great Shepherd of the sheep.

“Now, the God of peace that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that Great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in us that which is well-pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to Whom be glory for ever & ever. Amen.” (Hebrews 13:20-21)


Author: John Wibberley

May God bless and enrich your life

Please feel free to share this article and other articles on this site with friends, family and others.


No comments:

Post a Comment