Reflections Blog

.

.

.

.

After a blissful two weeks on the Norfolk coast, I’m back in the Benefice and feeling very much recharged.  My thanks to Howell for his enlightening article in last month’s PAX which felt very apt for me personally as I had spent much of my holiday reflecting on the beauty of nature and how blessed we all are to live where we do.  If you were hoping for tales of action-packed adventures upon my return then I’m afraid you’ll be sadly disappointed as I spent the majority of my time doing absolutely nothing!! 

But I have other news!!  To my great joy, I am now a proud grandma!  Little Edward was born on 29^th September weighing a strapping 8lb 6oz to my son Luke and his partner Kirsty and I have to say that I am smitten already!  It’s funny how the birth of a baby triggers many thoughts and emotions that break into the usual routine of everyday life.  Edward’s arrival made me acutely aware of the passage of time and it was an odd feeling to realise that another generation had been added to our family history, pushing me further up the ranks of the family tree.  There is now only one more generation alive above me and I am now ‘nanny’ whilst the nanny and granddad I knew until relatively recently are gone. 

My granddad was known as Ted (Edward) and I gave my son the same middle name which has now been passed on to my new grandson who will be affectionately called Teddy.  I am very grateful for this link, this continuity, as it triggers memories of my own childhood and the love and respect I felt for my grandad and the gratitude I now have towards him for the things he taught me, even though I didn’t realise what they were at the time.  Our history, our past, is important.  Whether our experiences are good or bad, they form us into the people we are today and give us a sense of belonging and identity.

It’s important that we remember the generations before us, whether we are directly related to them or not.  Their lives and experiences allow us to draw on a wealth of knowledge that help us to form our lives in the present day, to mirror and build upon their positive and life-giving examples and to learn from the damaging or negative ones.

This is never more poignant than in the month of November when we commemorate Armistice Day and Remembrance Sunday.  For many of us, we will never have known the horrors of war nor do the younger generations have any relatives to recall the memories first-hand.  How then can they hope to understand the bravery, fear, courage and self-sacrifice of the generations before us, especially in a world that increasingly glamorises violence?  How can they understand how fortunate we are to live in this country and to empathise with other countries which are in the midst of conflict?  If lessons are to be learned, peace to be cherished, repetition avoided then it is vital that this generation remembers and passes on that knowledge.

Our history, our past is important.  For the sake of our future, ‘Lest we Forget’.

         With love Ginni

2