Last Month - May

Julies Jottings 

A post Easter trip to France found me in Giverny visiting Monet’s Garden, where many of his water lily paintings were set.  It was an amazing picture of thousands of resplendent spring flowers in bloom, even though the pond lilies were not yet in bud.  Nearby a small boy asked his father, ‘What does, ‘once in a lifetime’ mean?’  His father explained that sometimes you only see something so beautiful once and you need to value it. We know what he means. A picture of beauty stays in the mind’s eye and can bring pleasure and inspiration long afterwards and even when life gets more mundane.
 
There are photographs at Giverny which show the same spot in the garden throughout the year.  The dense carpet of flowers changes completely with the seasons. However, it always has beauty and always brings hope.
 
As May begins, we are looking forward to the Coronation of King Charles III.  At the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, my Granny told my mother and her sister that this was a ‘once in a lifetime’ occasion.  To her dying days, Granny held onto that memory and would recall it whenever mention was made about the Queen.  It signalled to her a hope for the nation and made her proud to be British.  As we look forward to the splendour of King Charles’ Coronation, we have an opportunity to celebrate together and hope for something good.                                                                                                                                                                                              Rev. Julie Norris



A Reflection for May 

Behold, I stand at the door and Knock.

‘The Light of the World’ is the name by which the famous painting by William Holman Hunt is known. Jesus Christ is depicted holding a bright lantern and standing outside a cottage door. There is no handle on the door, it can be opened only from the inside. This powerful image shows Christ, ever present, is ready to enter, ready to shed His light into our lives but it is we who must move to open the door of our hearts and minds to admit Him.

John wrote this section of Revelations (Ch 3 v 20) to the Laodiceans. They were rich and complacent, taken up with the pleasures of this world, money, possessions, secure and rather indifferent to the church and to God. Jesus is knocking on the door of our hearts and wants us to open up to Him. He is always patient, not breaking and entering, but knocking. We are free to decide whether or not to open our lives to Him, but what a difference it will make if we do. His light will illuminate all of the dark spaces that trouble us and make our happier times shine more brightly.