Leaves.  You may have spent half an hour raking them up only to return an hour later and find more.  Dry brown, yellow, purple concoctions which feel like your hands do after washing the dishes.  Millions of leaves have fallen to the ground over the last month, and will rot in some strange place.

If you drive in the country on any day, you will pass thousands of trees.  In some places they are so close together that you only see a carpet of green across the tree tops: millions of leaves forming a shelter for the tree itself and for the many plants below.

The Psalmist announces: "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands." (19:1)  Creation reflects the character of the Creator: everything unique in its own way, serving the needs of its surrounds as well as drawing from it.  All working together in perfect harmony.  The trees are a part of a larger whole, of which the leaves are an integral part.

The Psalmist continues, extolling the perfection not only of creation, but in the law of God; it "is perfect, reviving the soul" (v 7).  What we see in creation encourages us to believe that God knows what He is on about, not only for the plants but for us as people.  Each leaf of a tree is an important part of the structure of God's creation.  We too may know that we are an important part of it also, with our guidelines spelt out in God's law - His Word.  Happy raking!