Take a Little Time

Madeira. It’s a little island in the Atlantic, minding its own business.  During the pandemic lockdown on a dreary weekend, I was roaming the internet, looking for somewhere without much Covid, far away from American politics and cable news.  I stumbled on pictures of Madeira, sitting alone in the ocean, to the west of Africa and a part of Portugal.  It seemed like a flower-filled paradise, and did not disappoint when we went there in August.  Looking out over the terracotta rooftops at the ocean, the island alluded a feeling of peacefulness and contentment.  We went on stunning hikes in the mountains, and sat by lava lined pools.  Flush with terraced farms, and irrigated by aqueducts called levadas, built over the centuries to bring water down the mountains for the grape and banana plants, the island was a little speck of paradise under a changing sky, surrounded by the deep, blue ocean.  I could have stayed for weeks on end.

There are times when the wonder of the world is particularly palpable, most often when we are disconnected from our daily lives, unplugged from modernity and the rush of civilization.  During this busy season, perhaps we should all try to take a little time to detach from the festivities and the shopping and the rushing, so as not to be too distracted from the miracles of creation.  

“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above”- James 1:17

Judy is a member of Peace Christian Church.