At first, it seems to be only another tangle of grass and summer growth. Then the eye catches the berries—green turning through gold to scarlet, a small flame rising from the earth.

Much of creation ripens quietly. Change is already under way before its colour becomes visible, and what appears sudden has often been forming for a long time beneath the leaves.

Perhaps hope is like this: not always bright from the beginning, but patiently gathering until, at the proper moment, its hidden fire can no longer be missed.