Heart and Soul

After a very enjoyable breakfast this morning with Danny and Dave, I decided to venture over to Sefton Park and enjoy a place that has so often been a refuge of peace and calm - a place I could meet with God and be reminded of him through creation.

However, I was in for a bit of a shock. You see, Sefton Park - along with most of Liverpool - is currently undergoing a major restoration of its traditional features. This is - at least in my opinion - a wonderful thing, as it should give vistors an incling of just how increadible this place was when it was first opened. And yet, at the moment, the Park looks like a bit of a disaster zone. Huge areas of open grass are sealed off to store heavy machinery. Most of the lakes and small ponds and rivers have been drained and are filled with rubble and clay from the building process. Large numbers of trees have been felled, and security fences are everywhere. As a result a great deal of the wildlife has quite understandably fled and what you are left with is an eerily dead place.

All of which is a bit sad really. The Park seems to have lost its heart and soul, the qualities that made it such a wonderful place to be. I always prefered Sefton to Calderstone Park because whilst obviously being a man made place it was one that was slowly being reclaimed by nature, a place that had a wild tint to it. Now, in part that was by design - it was designed to be like that - and as such I'm sure that when its finished it will regain that wilderness touch, only with more magnificent pieces of sculpture and art, deeper and cleaner lakes, and better facilities. Which as I've said is great. But yeah. Right now its a strange place.

It did make me think though. The Park has lost something. Its lost its heart and soul and it is baring its messy foundations for all the world to see. And yet, this is all necessary to make it a better place in the end. Is this not the case with us too? Is it not so that there are times in our lives when our innermost thoughts and ways are laid bare, that we are exposed to pain and anxiety and sorrow, times when we too lose something - perhaps a joy, or a hope? And yet, are these not the very same times when God builds us up and creates something new within us?When He replaces false joy and hope with a joy and hope that comes from a belief in Him, when He grounds us in prayer and studying the Bible, changes us and molds us according to His perfect will. And yet do we not despair and seek to flee from the quiet and pained moments in life?

Just something to think about.

(P.S. Somethings don't change though - I still had a random friendly squirrel climb up on to my arm. Bizarre.)