2010:365:225 Holidays are for ...

... walking in the Mournes.

I to the hills will lift mine eyes, from whence doth come mine aid?  My safety cometh from the Lord, who heaven and earth hath made.  …. is the beginning of the metrical version of Psalm 121.  

In Sunday School days we learned many of hymns and psalms by rote, and these long-remembered words are sometimes roaming around your mind at the oddest times.

My waking thought was from this psalm, so the morning walk just had to be in the hills. 

A small forest was planted at Crocknafeola when we were just young children – now it is fully grown and some of the trees have been harvested, others have fallen.  In places there is a very shallow covering of soil before the roots touch granite and, while they spread out a bit, there isn’t the long tap root to give stability in the storms.

The dog and I didn’t go to the top today since I’d not had breakfast, my climbing boots were at home and we were without provisions of any sort (apart from water for Eliot).  But it was fun to explore the lower slopes – the path at one place looks more like a dry river valley after the recent rains.  

The fresh shoots of the bracken are peeping through and everywhere is lush and green. 

I’m sure that if we didn’t have so much rain we wouldn’t have all this fresh beauty. 

Once you’re among the trees the sound of an occasional car on the road fades into the silence.  

Crocknafeola is another playground from memory.  Before we had a car our Dad had a Lambretta – a scooter.  In relays he used to transport the entire family, two at a time.  Ellen and I would be taken a mile along the road where we’d be set off to walk while Dad returned for Mum and Mary.  They’d go past us a mile or so and begin their walking while Dad came back to pick us up; and so the leapfrogging would continue until we reached our destination!  This system worked for family picnics, picking blackberries or visiting relatives who lived at a distance. 

Blessed are you, Creator of all things; the heavens adore you.

Let the whole earth worship you.

Let all peoples proclaim you.

Let all nations obey you.

Let us serve you in love and in peace.

Come, Lord, and rule.

Come into our hearts and fill them with love.

Come, Lord, and rule.

Come into our minds and fill them with peace.

Come, Lord, and rule.

Come into our lives and fill them with light.

Come, Lord, and rule.

Come into our days and fill them with glory.

Come, Lord, and rule.

The Rhythm of Life (Celtic Daily Prayer)

David Adam.