Take the time to look around you...

I’ve done a lot of walking lately.

This isn’t an attempt to get sympathy or congratulations, nor a New Year’s Resolution; simply spending time walking around these East Devon/West Dorset hills and beaches has been a joy.

It’s meant I’ve seen my own ‘patch’ of parishes from a different perspective, too.

Walking from Kilmington towards Whitford last week, as I reached Cranberries, the last buildings on the hill, the view of the Axe Valley opened up and I had one of those times where the beauty of the moment was overwhelming.

I see that view when I drive by frequently, but, because I took time to look in a different way, I was rewarded by a special moment.

If we all stopped a little more, and looked for the beauty, joy and the God all around us, perhaps we could have more days, weeks and lives filled with such moments!