The first part of the week was really busy as we prepared for the start of Lent....holding a Pancake party and then an Ashing experience at our drop in cafe.. all really lovely events with lots of food for thought .
Having worked half the week Wednesday night we hot the road and took refuge for a couple of days down at my folks in Deal.
Most of you know my boys are high energy and so thrive being outside ..... we spent a day walking up and down the prom visiting Walter Castle and generally enjoying the great out doors and enjoying tree climbing Andy den building as well as playing on the beach and in the arcades!
the next we decided to jump on a train...purely because it's Elijah favourite thing in the world and visit Margate..originally because we had a thought that Marc and Dan may want to go to "Geek Fest" but as we approached the queues were massive and Daniel said it seemed too busy and scary so we carried on to the beach and to the turner Gallery.
I'm really interested in photography, art and sculpture t had seen an advert for "The Wasteland" and was intruiged..strangely enough so wasn't Dan (something to do with a certain head teacher mentioning the place I believe!!!)
The exhibition did not disappoint , the exhibits were fascinating , random, inspiring, intruiging and disturbing all in one; even Elijah was able to engage for a while and Daniel was just mesmerised !!!!
The thing that has stayed with me over the last few days since being home has been that Wasteland.... thinking too about the wilderness preparing for today's sermon that Jesus encountered in himself preparation for his ministry ....are wastelands always a "waste" or do they have a part to play? Can they be useful in certain situations and can they in their "emptiness " be a haven of space and natural
beauty.
For Jesus he needed the wilderness, to engage in the Wasteland to get clarity, clear his head, to fully converse with God his father. Are there times when we need to find solice, look for the beauty in the
places others dismiss , retreat to find ourselves?....
The natural beauty around us, the beauty others can depict in art and sculpture has definitely been awe inspiring !
This week also saw me walk the wilderness journey with dear friends as after 54 years of marriage they were separated by the evil that is cancer... this part of the job is so so tough you wouldn't believe, yet so much of a blessing, you hear the stories of youth, the tales and the slightly cheeky things people got up to but mostly you get to sit with people as they think and reflect how they have been touched by another human being. To be in the wilderness , walking the Wasteland journey alone is an experience but to encounter life and journey it with others, I feel, is the ultimate blessing !
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