Whether you’re spotting fairytale, fly agarics amongst the bracken in Barrack Hill or milkcaps scattered throughout Jews’ Wood, the mushrooms you see this Autumn are only a tiny fraction of the organism itself. Hidden just below the fruiting body that we see once a year, mushrooms have hairlike strands called mycelium which spread deep and wide under the soil, all year long.
Without these networks most plants and trees would not survive. They stabilise the soil, sticking it together. They also sheath plant roots, protecting them from harm. Fungi even share water and nutrients with plants, in exchange for sugars to help them grow. Perhaps most fascinating, these fungi filaments allow for communication between trees, who can send chemical messages about pests and other dangers, along the filaments, to neighbouring trees. These networks have been dubbed the ‘Wood Wide Web’.
Similar to these fungi, God occasionally makes spectacular displays of his power and presence to his people. We see this in stories all through the Bible, like the parting of the Red Sea, overflowing pots of oil, and miraculous healings. But there are also times God seems far away and out of view. When we look at escalating world tensions and the struggles we face in our own lives we might be tempted to ask ‘where are you God? Why do you hide your face from us?’ If we do, we are in good company, for so did Job, in one of the oldest books of the Bible, and King David in the Psalms.
However, just because we can’t see him, it doesn’t mean he isn’t there. The book of Esther never mentions God by name, yet as you read through it, you see him working to rescue an entire race of people through small interventions – a sleepless night, an anxious wife, a wise uncle. Like the mycelium, God may seem hidden, but he is always there, supporting and protecting his people. And he promises that when we seek him, we will find him. ‘You are the God who works wonders… You with your arm redeemed your people… yet your footprints were unseen’ (Psalm 77).

Author: Rebecca Duncan