St. John the Baptist Church, Stowe by Chartley, part of the Mid-Trent Churches Team

Summer is here and for most people that means holidays! For many, any decent holiday involves heading for the beach. Whether it is a day trip to the seaside, a stay cation to our own lovely coast, or going abroad to bluer seas and whiter beaches, the sea just smells like summer! There is something magical about the sounds of the sea lapping on a beach, and the gentle sound of waves, lapping too and fro. However, the sea is very changeable. For several years of my life, I lived close to the sea and saw it in all its changing moods. Indeed, I once broke a so-called indestructible Silver Cross pram by daily dragging it over large stones that a high tide had smashed all over the promenade in the middle of winter! Life is very much like the sea, always in a state of flux, always flowing ever changing from high tide to low tide with the sea’s tides. ...Life is very much like the sea... Just this week I have been reading a book of reflection and prayers written by David Adam called “Tides and Seasons”. David was Vicar of Holy Island in Lindisfarne for 13 years and is a rich source of Celtic Spirituality which is very much based on nature and creation. In this book he argues that life is not in fact a journey, going steadily forward towards the final goal, but like the sea – tidal. It starts with our youth, the incoming tide. This is a time of excitement and opportunity, looking forward to the sea rolling in, but can also be an uncertain time where we don’t really know what is coming. Next comes the full tide, the middle years when we live life to the full. These usually are our best years, but can also lead to floods, when we can be overwhelmed. But then, we realise that our strength is beginning to ebb away. We realise the tide is turning and the ebb tide has come -the Autumn of our lives. Finally, we get the low tide, the winter, where we experience loss and finally death. But looking at your life, you realise that life is not that straight forward. Indeed, I can hear readers in one of these seasons of life shouting at me that at the moment they are experiencing a very different tide, maybe better, maybe worse! And that is because the sea is in a constant state of flux, forever changing, bringing different tides. You may be youthful and experiencing low tide, a time full of loss and emptiness, when the sea seems very far away. God may seem far off, but he is still there, offering you Resurrection Hope of new life to come. And remember. Low tide is the time beach- combers love, because the sea ... the sea comes back - a new beginning ... as it retreats reveals its treasures left behind. The loss maybe of a job, a relationship, or it maybe the death of a loved one. Search that empty shoreline and find the lost treasures, the memories and experiences left behind. And yes, eventually the tide will turn. The end of one thing always heralds the new. The sea comes back in an incoming tide, a new beginning, new opportunities, a new chapter. New hope. This may however be a frightening time, full of insecurity. You don’t know which way the tide is coming and you may be afraid it will cut you off. Again, lean into God, he will guide you on a safe path through. Then we are back to full tide, the sweet spot. This is a busy time, and it can be overwhelming. We often tend to forget God and indeed forget our own needs and maybe start to sink. This is the time to think about treading water! Take that holiday! Or just allow some quiet time to reflect, regroup and find a moment of His Peace! Then, perhaps gradually or perhaps unexpectedly the tide changes and you feel the sea ebbing away from you. You have no control; the tide is dragging you back to sea. But this is only a season. Soon the tides change and the sea flows in again. We must experience the ebb tide if we want to experience the flow. Of course, we all must eventually experience the final low tide, but for Christians this is not a scary place because, as we stand on that final shore on which the waters disappear, we look to that other shore beyond the sea, the eternal shore where we will dwell with God forever. May God grant you a happy and enriching holiday time.

With every blessing,

Vivienne.

St. John the Baptist Church, Stowe by Chartley, part of the Mid-Trent Churches Team

A Letter from Rev'd Vivienne.

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