Peace...

Yesterday afternoon we walked along the bank of the river Lune, (after all it was a Bank Holiday!). It was a beautiful day; bright sunshine with contrasting white clouds hovering over the hills. Ahead Ingleborough stood clear, but shaded; not the brooding presence it sometimes seems to be, rather the benign guardian at the head of the valley. A buzzard circled high above, and four swans moved leisurely upstream, dipping their heads under the water in unison. A crested grebe perched on a rock hidden just below the surface while another raced downstream to join it. Twice we saw a kingfisher skim across the water, just below the bank, out of sight of all except those walking quietly by the edge. Most of the people going up and down had dogs with them, or possibly it was the dogs that had people with them. We walked across grass and through woodland, returning the same way. In places the river was patterned and chattering as water ran over shallow rocky sections, in other places it appeared still and utterly calm. No wonder Isaiah speaks of ‘peace like a river’ (48:18; 66:12).