Stopping the traffic

We are planning another trip to Holland this summer. There'll be walking, cycling, eating, sleeping and generally living outdoors. I love the pace of life in Frysland, a rural area a couple of hours north of Amsterdam.

But even on the drive up there from Rotterdam, on some fast and busy roads, it intrigues me how, when boats want to pass, traffic stops, engines are switched off, the road opens up and boats pass through the gap. There's even time to take photographs.

This holy week, I've found myself longing for that opportunity to stop for a moment. But, with services every night, services that I can't put together until the pressure of deadline is upon me, as well as all the normal pastoral needs to be met, letting up is not an option. This busy - ness is largely of my own making. But I'm not beating myself up about that. Because I believe that 2000 years ago, Jesus found himself caught up in frenetic activity. No time even to prepare for his own death - the folk around him just wanted more and more.

Sometimes we tell ourselves that its in the stillness that we can know God. But, thankfully, God is also clearly present in all the commotion. Not being able to change how the week is shaping up or how I am caught up in activity, still I relish God quietly present, urging us on to show his love for the world. And when there is that odd pause in the traffic, hopefully I'll be able to take in the view and bask in the moment before carrying on to change the world with love.