From City to Country

On Monday we left the city streets of Edinburgh and traveled by coach (bus) 3 hours south to the Lake District of Northern England. The prospect of almost a whole week in the country was a bit daunting at first, having just left fast-paced city life, but I was thoroughly enjoying myself by the second day. I didn't realize that I needed to slow down until I was forced to do so, and I have especially appreciated having time for solitude and prayer.











On our last night in Edinburgh, some of my friends and I celebrated my 22nd birthday with a night on the town. Kelsey and Katherine treated me to dinner and dessert, and then we finished up the night with a game of pool.










The youth hostel (see pic) where we are staying is an old mansion where the Romantic poet Samuel Coleridge once stayed. The mansion overlooks Derwentwater Lake and is surrounded by beautiful forest, pastures, and waterfalls- one waterfall is actually outside our dining room window. The scenery is breathtaking. Wordworth, another Romantic poet, actually grew up in the Lake District so it has been fun to read his poems describing the surrounding lakes and hillsides.

Our hostel is just 3 miles outside of the quaint, tourist destination of Keswick (see picture), so on nice days we often walk into town, and the nasty ones we take the bus. Yesterday we walked about 2 miles the other direction from our hostel to the tiny English village of Grange. I've never seen such beautiful landscape or such a pastorally perfect town. We had tea at Grange Bridge Cottage (see picture)- a family run restaurant/cafe, and spent some time reading. It was lovely.

We leave the Lake District on Sunday and head for Dublin. It will be fun to be in the city again, but for now I am enjoying my time in the country. The main thing that God has been teaching me this week is how to be comfortable being myself when those around me live differently- this is something that I have had to re-learn. Also, I am discovering that I needed this time in Britain to not only reconnect with God, but to rest up a little, and allow Him to revive me spiritually. Dr. Chaney once told my sister Erin that every 7 years, farmers let their fields rest so that can absorb needed nutrients for future harvests. The same is true for us spiritually- we often need a time of rest where we are not actively engaged in ministry, but simply take time to remember our relationship with God as it is the source of our strength. I have realized that it is time for me to be a fallow field for awhile, and I have been amazed by God's faithfulness in blessing my time of spiritual rest.

Here are some more pictures of the Lake District: