Seen one seen them all? Yes a forest trail is a forest trail, but this one is almost 70 miles from home so it must be different from my normal walk. A bit greener maybe? But still muddy! Anyway this photo was taken less than 50 yards from my motorhome so that’s great and, for me, a taste of heaven. Yes, I’m on a campsite somewhere near Chester, on the edge of Delamere Forest. I only had a short walk but nonetheless found it wonderfully engaging. Midweek out of season suits me fine, and apart from one jogger with dog I saw no-one to disturb my contemplation. So, around 5pm this evening I wandered down the trail and found a lake, with thousands of birds going about their fascinating business. Swooping, diving or just paddling around, they appeared very busy as the sun began to get lower in the sky. But the most amazing thing was that every single one seemed to be singing… oh yes, I reckon a song of praise to my God. A truly heavenly anthem and who needs an mp3 player in such a place? It was the most beautiful birdsong, really loud, and as far as I could see I was the only person there to enjoy it. So that was just what I needed and exactly why I needed to get away.
My son and I had a special ‘treat’ this morning. An 8.30am appointment at the dentist! We moved to this practice around 18 months ago and quickly discovered our new dentist insisted upon drilling and filling almost all who came her way. So at that first visit Jane acquiesced to her demands, as did my son. Fortunately I was last and having fed my credit card into the chip and pin machine 5 times, to pay for all the extra treatment, I got crafty and jokingly pleaded poverty. With just the slightest sigh the dentist said ‘Ok, next time then… but make sure you floss’. Anyway this morning, apart from the mandatory clean, we were both given the all clear! Is that weird or what? No, she’s obviously had the business targets moved in a different direction. I’ve not had a filling for over twenty years and my teeth are fine… prior to that I had fillings strictly every other visit and boosted that guy’s pension scheme quite nicely I reckon. I knew no different then and just accepted his professional integrity. So now I’ve got a mouth full of very old mercury amalgam fillings and read about how that can be associated with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. But no way can I face having them all replaced on the off-chance that it might improve my health.
I really needed to get away from all this stuff… so I have and that’s good. I seem to be surrounded by people I care about who need support in one way or another, and I totally want to be there for them. I can’t do that if I’m ill, so hopefully this break will help my recovery. A week or so ago my son-in-law was knocked unconscious as he played rugby and spent the rest of the day in hospital; my daughter didn’t even tell me until the next day when he’d recovered. For sure I would have driven over to Loughborough to help in whatever way I could; even though that was the day I had severe chest pains. I’m so glad she left me out of that particular loop, but even more relieved about his complete recovery! Helping others is in reality my ‘raison d'être’ at the moment. Until the Lord leads me in another direction I’ll continue to serve as best as I can.
Isaiah 49:13 ‘Sing for joy, O heavens! Rejoice, O earth! Burst into song, O mountains!’ (NLT)
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