Legacy

Two or three weeks ago I received an "Amazon Local" offer which included entry for two people to Barnsdale Gardens, together with afternoon tea, at a very reasonable rate.  My mind immediately went back to the days when the BBC programme Gardeners' World, presented by the late Geoff Hamilton, came from Barnsdale.  I hadn't realised that Barnsdale was not for from the town of Oakham, which is itself only around 25 miles from where we live.  Last Friday Sue and I travelled across to Barnsdale and thoroughly enjoyed both our walk rounds the gardens and our delicious afternoon tea!

Geoff Hamilton presented Gardeners' World for many years, until his untimely death in 1996.  He was much loved by the many who enjoyed his friendly and informative style of presentation, which was down-to-earth, honest and spiced with humour.  He was an early advocate of the organic approach to gardening long before it became more fashionable.  I must confess that I watched Gardeners' World much more often during the days of Geoff Hamilton, though I'm not sure how much I learnt even then!

It was a real treat to actually visit Barnsdale, with its 38 individual gardens on an eight-acre site.  Many of the gardens were originally devised and created by Geoff Hamilton himself.  I has a real sense, as we wandered around the site, that Geoff Hamilton's legacy was clear to see.  The organic techniques and principles which he used have been continued at Barnsdale.  DVDs of many of his TV programmes, along with his books, are still available for sale; a DVD was playing in the shop and it seemed rather strange to hear his gentle voice after all these years!  Geoff Hamilton's passion was to encourage and help others to experience the joy in gardening which he knew.  A foundation has been set up in his memory to assist students at his former Agricultural College.  Though he died some 19 years ago, his legacy lives on.

One element of my role as a church leader is to take funeral services.  A question which often crops up when thinking about a person who has died is, "what was their legacy?"  I find it a very challenging question, and I sometimes wonder what my own legacy will be.  In other words, what difference will the fact that I lived on planet earth make, both during my own lifetime and into the future?  Many years ago I started to write a book, based on some words of St Paul to the church in Corinth.  Paul uses the illustration of a builder; each person builds something with his life, and one day what we have built will be tested:

'No one can ever lay any other real foundation than that one we already have - Jesus Christ. But there are various kinds of materials that can be used to build on that foundation. Some use gold and silver and jewels; and some build with sticks and hay or even straw! There is going to come a time of testing at Christ’s Judgement Day to see what kind of material each builder has used. Everyone’s work will be put through the fire so that all can see whether or not it keeps its value, and what was really accomplished.' (1 Corinthians 3:11-13)

I never did get very far with that book, but the challenge remains!

Art is not what you see, but what you make others see

From time to time I am asked to speak at school assemblies, and this morning I was at the local Hall School here in Glenfield.  It is always a pleasure to visit the school; the pupils are attentive and responsive to questions.  Each week the school have a theme, and assemblies are designed to fit in with the theme.  This week's theme was "Art", along with a quote from the famous artist, Degas: "Art is not what you see, but what you make others see."

That quote certainly got me thinking, as I tried to tease out what Degas might have been saying.  The reality is that a piece of art can 'speak' in different ways to different people.  Over the years Sue and I have bought too many paintings and pictures, and we certainly don't have sufficient wall space on which to hang them all.  I came across one which we bought very cheaply at a car boot sale some years ago, and decided to take it to school for the assembly.

I think that we bought it because we found it rather thought-provoking.  The scene is a fracture clinic, and features various members of the public as well as medical staff.  It seems to be one of those images where the longer you look at it the more you get out of it.  I find the expression of the person in the foreground particularly fascinating!

After ascertaining the children's responses to the painting, I then went on to develop the theme by telling the old story of Jumbo the elephant, which dates back to the mid-nineteenth century.  I don't have space to relate how Jumbo fits into the theme, but I ended my talk by pointing out that, just as the artist signed their name on the painting, so God, as it were, signs his name on our lives.  The Bible makes it clear that in every human being there is something of the imprint of our Creator, and that makes each one special.

In one sense, we could say that each person's life is a bit like a painting; all their friends, family and associates see an element of the picture, but no-one (other than God himself) sees the whole.  It's an interesting thought to ponder what others see when they look at the picture of our lives; more importantly, what does God see?

The power of words

One of my neighbours is very much into family history research, and since retirement has been undertaking family history research on behalf of others as a hobby.  Of course, family history has become a significant interest for many people; the popularity of programmes such as "Who Do You Think You Are?" is perhaps evidence of this phenomenon.  In consultation with my sisters and brother I decided to ask my neighbour to undertake some research into our family tree (hopefully there won't be too many skeletons in the family cupboard!)

I will be fascinated to see what the research comes up with.  If I could travel back to visit my ancestors from, say, 200 years ago, and manage to bring them forward to the year 2015, they would witness things totally beyond their comprehension.  I should imagine that modern day society would seem to be a different world from what they were used to.  The changes during those 200 years have been vast.  In many ways, the 21st Century is probably a far better period in which to live.  Yet at the same time there are ways in which we humans behave as badly as ever.  Just look at the news on any day and there will be countless examples of the dreadful ways in which we human beings behave towards one another.

One element of this which has been on my mind recently has been the way in which the level of personal abuse flying around seems to have risen enormously.  This is often seen on social media; for some reason, many people seem to think that it's OK to verbally abuse others, sometimes in the most revolting and vile language.  We so often hear people in the public eye offering destructive and judgemental words to others; the world of politics is one area where this can be very apparent.  Sadly, the Church is not always innocent in this respect.  Yet the Bible makes it abundantly clear that the words which Christians speak should never be destructive.  Here are a few examples:

'Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen'  Ephesians 4:29
'Let your conversation be always full of grace.'  Colossians 4:6
'Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless.'  James 1:26
'Kind words are like honey - sweet to the taste and good for your health.'  Proverbs 16:24

I like this Mnemonic:

Before you speak, THINK…
T - is it True?
H - is it Helpful?
I - is it Inspiring?
N - is it Necessary?
K - is it Kind?

How much better our world would be if we took time to THINK before we spoke.  I confess that I don't always manage it, but I know I should.  Words have power to heal or to hurt; we should use them wisely.