A slide with a view

I had been to see the sun setting on Monday night and once it had gone behind the horizon I came home and got ready for bed when I caught a glimpse of red through a gap in the curtains. The sky was afire with afterglow and this was something I couldn’t miss. I took Ina’s camera with her lenses to get a shot from our front door then realised I needed to go out into the street, then a bit further down until I ended up in the park. The sky was spectacular here but it was only once I was standing on top of the slide that I had enough elevation to frame the sky with Dumgoyne and the Campsies. Still wearing pyjamas and slippers.

Appreciating creation and its wonders is a form of thanksgiving as we recognise the beauty of this world that God has made and make the effort sometimes to get out there and participate in moments like this that come by, often unexpectedly. I’m not sure whether Bishopbriggs is ready for a rash of St James parishioners in pyjamas outside in precarious places late at night though! In the first lockdown there was a greater appreciation of the world of nature on our doorstep and I hope we can regain some of that this summer. And it may mean being a little daft, like the group of folk that got together last night in a random field to watch another sunset…only later did we notice the CCTV camera!

Climbing up the slide to get a view also chimed well with my reading this morning where the Christopher Jamison, Abbot of Worth Abbey wrote: Classic religion is quite simply a broader and richer reality than that offered by many modern spirituality movements. Religious doctrine (has the capacity) to expand our hearts and minds, to lead people into areas that they have never experienced or considered and to save human beings from the smallness of their private lives.

Climbing slightly higher allowed me to see more and using the lens on the camera allowed me a depth of perspective I could not have had with my own eye. Our faith does that for us and these words from Christopher Jamison capture so well how being part of a community and tradition with so many years of reflection and experience helps us reframe our lives and the beauty and brokenness that we find there. As we engage honestly and deeply with the Bible and keep fresh our obedience and commitment to Jesus Christ we will find ourselves with a new perspective on our lives and a deeper understanding of our place in God’s plans to bring healing to his world. Even if we are in our pyjamas.

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