Pretty much all my childhood holidays were spent in Somerset near the Quantock Hills. Uncle Colin and Aunty Nora lived nearby and during the first two weeks of August 'The Tackers' became a familiar sight amongst locals. We were townies through and through and our holidays with Nora and Colin (not really relatives but wonderful friends) opened our eyes to the wonders of good food and country ways. Picnics in the hills included hard boiled bantam eggs, pickled cucumber, home made chutneys and fresh raspberries from their garden.
Our trips into the countryside would always include 'going a walk' together and we'd each choose one of Uncle Colin's hazel 'gaffer' sticks to help us on our way. Colin was an intelligent, gentle, kind man with a knack for making you feel special without saying much. We loved him.
As we walked we talked, we sang, we laughed... and probably argued too. We'd watch out for huge orange slugs and tiny brown droppings. Our youngest brother, Simon, developed a liking for 'raking in the bubboles' with his gaffer stick!
If you happened to be walking next to Uncle Colin (my favourite place), he'd draw your attention to the smaller, hidden things. In amongst the heather and bracken we'd find whortles (bilberries) growing, the bloom on their dark berries hiding in the shadow beneath the leaves. If we found a berry, Uncle Colin would tell us we were getting a 'whortley eye'.
The goodness of God's kingdom is often hidden, it's loveliness doesn't often shout "Look at me!". It's too easy to despair, to lose hope in the face of the ugliness of the world. We desperately need voices, people of hope that point to the good, the kind, the beautiful things that burn away the ugly. The Light that shines on still in the darkness.
I'm working on developing my whortley eye. I'm not ignoring the pain and suffering in the world, I'm just looking for the beauty hiding in their shadow and praying his kingdom in.
"He reveals deep and hidden things;
he knows what lies in darkness,
and light dwells with him" Daniel 2:22
