In Israel, August is the beginning of the season of pomegranates. One of the ‘seven species’ (Deuteronomy 8:8), pomegranates are symbolic of blessing and fruitfulness (Numbers 13:23),  providing much needed refreshment when summer is at its hottest and driest. Full of seeds, they remind us that fruitfulness is also about securing future generations. Give thanks that it is the Lord who blesses and makes us fruitful, who sustains us through dry and difficult times, and whose plans for us are always for a ‘future and a hope’ (Jeremiah 29:11). Boris Johnson has pledged more funds to address ‘imbalances that affect rural communities’, with funding for rural schools, supporting rural post offices, and fibre broadband by 2025. He said rural communities will be central to kick-starting the British economy after Brexit. Pray that he and his cabinet will govern so that rural and urban communities lead a quiet and peaceable life.