“The Lord is my Shepherd...

...I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters.”

The words of Psalm 23 have been playing through my mind a lot of late, since the death of my nan. I’m not sure why this Psalm is so often sung at funerals, but whatever the reason, it is full of wonderful truths. And as I took a trip out on Saturday to a beautiful riverside spot, those first few verses played over and over in my mind like a record that’s got stuck (that makes me sound old – who listens to records these days?!). Not that I was really beside still waters…

We (the Wisbeys, Karin, three other colleagues and I) headed out into the middle of nowhere, along a bumpy dirt road, surrounded by dry grass and leafless trees until suddenly, over two hours later, you’re there… ahead of you in the near distance is a beautiful waterfall, and coming from it a lovely river, winding it’s way round into places just perfect for swimming (except for its temperature which was positively chilly).

We also enjoyed walking to another waterfall, snoozing on great slabs of rock heated by the sun, reading good books (I’m into John Grisham’s ‘The Testament’ at the moment) and having good food. And we never saw another soul the whole time we were there. Perfect!

Such days are wonderful escapes from the usual run of things. Work has been rather dry for me lately, I need some of those refreshing waters to flow through my attitudes, my days at the office and my relationship with God, to bring them new life and purpose and to make them fruitful.