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New Year in the Valley, Tintern and the Wye Valley, January 25th 2025
Sunday 26th January 2025
David Gleed
Climbing the steep and on this day, wet and slippery track towards the ridge of the valley, the views often obscured by dense foliage at other times of the year, opened out before us. Below - a long way below - the ruins of magnificent Tintern Abbey beside the river Wye provided the centre piece, though even this glory dwarfed by the high wooded hills all around.
The weather was good; crisp, bright and sunny with just a hint of frost remaining by midday in the more shaded parts. Along the Way we stopped every so often to hear a short reflection, each time drawing us back to our pilgrim purpose.
God is always with us and wants us to be aware of his presence in whatever we are doing or wherever we are. These lines read as we stood on the hillside, speak vividly of this:
'The man whispered, "God, speak to me"
and a meadowlark sang.
But the man did not hear.
So, the man yelled, "God speak to me"
and the thunder rolled across the sky.
But the man did not listen.
The man looked around and said, "God let me see you"
and a star shined brightly.
But the man did not see.
And the man shouted, "God show me a miracle"
and a life was born.
But the man did not notice.
So, the man cried out in despair,
"Touch me God, and let me know you're here"
whereupon God reached down and touched the man.
But the man brushed the butterfly away and walked on.'
The Way was strewn with tree trunks, some cut by a saw, maybe a few with an axe, many simply blown over by the strong winds of this month and last - we were spoilt for places to sit at lunchtime!
Towards the end of our journey and back on the valley floor, we stopped in the tiny hamlet of Brockweir close to the riverbank to visit the beautiful, whitewashed Moravian chapel. A simple building, and open - perfect! Inside we heard the story of the founding of the Moravian church and of its arrival in the Wye Valley. The motto of the church resonates well with Journeying: "In essentials, unity; in nonessentials, liberty; and in all things, love."