It’s hard to know

where to start

I feel so lucky being married

for so many years

to a woman I adore.

This woman is

my best friend

soul mate

and lover.

This woman who

tolerates all my flaws

and still loves me.

It is her love

that has freed me

to be the best version

of me – which is

no mean feat.

My theological training

taught me

that we are each

made in the image

of God who is love.

We are made whole

when we give ourselves

freely in love.

And I get to live

that graced reality.

There is a joy

I experience

when I smell

boronia in bloom.

This nondescript plant

only has its

small brown bell-shaped flowers

one month in the year

but they signal

spring is close.

So the smell

triggers memories

of emerging from winter

but there is also

a delicate sweetness

to the fragrance

unlike any other

that is guaranteed

to put a smile

on my face.

Gratitude is always important

but especially

during a lockdown.

Shining stump of a rainbow

which dives into the bay,

shrouded in clouds

from white to

shades of grey.

It presides over a scene

notable for its icy, lashing wind

and waves

topped in white,

crashing against the shore

spreading seaweed and human detritus.

Bleak?

Some may say.

I think it’s best described as

Grace

Glorious wonder

Sustainer

There are those

who are casting around

looking for someone

to blame

for our COVID predicament.

The answers are more complex,

subtle and nuanced

than would fit

into a sound bite.

Pity.

Some answers could be

greed, selfishness, ignorance and entitlement:

the modern Horsemen?

More importantly

what will help

is compassion

for another’s plight and

acknowledging

that we are constantly

in each other’s arms

and that we are better,

more true to our fullness

when we do so.

This battle will continue to rage

and I will hope…

Looking forward

Can be a good thing

Future focused

Is a buzz term.

But what happens

When the future seems

Filled with uncertainty?

Looking forward

Is then like an exercise

Towards anxiety.

Better to savour

The giftedness

Of this moment,

This situation,

These people,

Revelling in the beauty

And the challenges.

This gift called

The present.

Now I just need

To take my own medicine…

Taking our dogs

for a walk

on the beach

my breath is taken away

by another glorious sunrise.

So much so

it jolts me into

rethinking the idea of

ordinary.

Ordinary has overtones

of plain, everyday or boring.

This scene

of pastel pinks and blues

framed by delicate clouds

and crowned by the moon

is neither plain nor boring.

There is a sunrise

every day

but this scene

is not ordinary.

This scene

teeming with delight is

gobsmacking

grace-filled

and reminds me

again

to not sleep walk

through the joys

right in front of me.

Rather, to open my eyes

see

and savour

God’s bounty

in all its forms.

It doesn’t matter the weather

The bay radiates beauty

It could be delicate pastels

in the morning.

Multiple shades of blue

in full sunshine.

Brooding greys

of sea and sky

that are both foreboding

and magnificent.

Glorious golds, oranges and reds

as the day closes.

The point is to pay attention

and be open to the grace

lavishly laid on.

I gaze at the

pale blue sky

of the start of winter

with its welcome sunshine

casting a golden glow

as the day wanes.

Listening to the

joyful and captivating music

of Muddy Waters.

I sense God at work

in all this

(and more)

as I am deeply appreciative

of this moment.

I leave my home the next morning

and am greeted by the dark

and chill

and the splendour

of a slightly yellow moon

setting on its night’s work.

Ordinary? Maybe.

Yet it takes my breath away

and both calms and cheers me

to face the day.

Grace is always there.

Do I have the eyes to see?

Growing straight and tall

Having seen one hundred

Summers and winters go by

Smooth sinuous pale bark

With the occasion flecks

Of brown

Arms outstretched

In petition

For sun and rain

In acceptance

Of all that is given

Ordinary wonder

Of your creation

Connected to all

That was and is and is to come

That oozes peace

Pastels of blue and pink

in the sky

reflected in the water

that is almost perfectly still.

Gloden ochre cliffs

shimmering

help frame the scene.

Just when I’m filled with bliss

regular, gently insistent waves

which signal the tide

roll to shore

amplifying the beauty and peace

that my thirsty soul wishes to store.

Superlatives are rendered meaningless.

All I have is ‘thank you, God’.