“Earth is crammed with heaven.

And every common Bush fire with God,

But only he who sees takes off his shoes.”

Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Aurora Leigh.

It is easy to feel that everything is out of control, or maybe worse we feel that everything should be under our control but it isn’t. We have the technology, don’t we? Surely, we can regulate everything.

Nature and life, however, have other thoughts. The cool breeze this June has kyboshed best laid plans for our vegetable patch. The runner beans have been bashed by the wind (my dad always says we put them in too early) and the courgettes are looking very peaky.

It is certain, we can’t make the weather get better, we can’t turn up the temperature of the sun, nor can we tell the wind to stop blowing. It feels hard, living at the mercy of what comes our way. Life does what life does.

There is some truth in the cliché “Always look on the bright side of life”. Looking at the bright side gives us something to do, we are taking positive action. It doesn’t take away the “dark side”, the trials and tribulation, but at least we have a better view as we battle on through.

I love the images of weeds which against all odds push through the cracks in the pavement. They may be weeds, but somehow there is hope in their resilience, “Earth is crammed with heaven”. The author of Ecclesiastes (Bible, The Message) was fed up. He had tried everything, he found no satisfaction anywhere, he concluded in chapter 3 verses 1-14 that, “God made everything beautiful in itself and in its time … I’ve decided that there’s nothing better to do than go ahead and have a good time and get the most we can out of life... It’s God’s gift”.

In times of trial and tribulation this is very difficult. But I wonder if Elizabeth Barrett Browning was right. Perhaps we should give ourselves permission to take the time and the space to take off our shoes and see the goodness of God in the things around us, that action in itself might bring us hope and peace.

Sarah Smith