Let’s talk…

“Come, let us talk about these things …”

Isaiah chapter 1 verse 18, New Century Version Bible

We had been to the top of the hill with the dogs, escaping the stuffed up Christmas house. It was a crystal clear day with the glorious mix of sunshine and breeze to spotlight and blow the cobwebs away from the corners of our minds. On our way back down the hill we saw this bench: simple and sturdy and yet bathed in a golden light, inviting us to sit, and stare. We did. Dogs between us. All of us squinting down the rolling fields, woods, little towns and to far off estuary, glittering in the late afternoon.

Then we got talking. It was good to be here. Just us. But who would we most like to sit with up here? Not like a dinner party guest – all concerned over food and manners and meaningless talk, but just someone to talk to on a bench, whilst just taking in the view and chewing life over? We thought of parents and grandparents, some who’d died. How we’d like to sit with them now, at our age, and talk with them as ‘grown – ups’, share some life experiences, listen to some sage wisdom. Know that we we were loved and accepted, just who we are. Maybe share a smile or a chuckle at life’s mishaps, surprises and happy times.

We thought of well known people living and from the past that we will never meet, but would be nice to exchange a thought of two with. C.S.Lewis, Maya Angelou, just to name two. Be good just to listen to anything they had to say, roll it around our heads and carry it on with us, like a precious stone.

Most of all we agreed we would like to sit there with, well, Jesus. Just Him and us…on the bench. Maybe we could ask Him a question. We weren’t too bothered by the bigger questions, but would like His insight on the everyday. He would look out over the estuary, and those ageless eyes would reflect the shimmering sea, just as they had all those years ago when He sat talking with His fishermen friends. Or when He had spoken the seas into existence and looked over the vast oceans, and rested. He would listen and be present with us as we mentioned what we are up to, what we are worried about, what we are looking forward to. Perhaps he would give us a little bit of insight, a little light along the path of this day. Maybe even a story to help us remember what He said to us, to help us to think it over in the coming days. He might smile, tell us something to make us smile, put His arm around us and tell us we are loved. We knew he would simply listen, maybe nod, maybe ‘mm-hmm’.

Then we thought, but we don’t have to come up a mountain to take some time to chat with Him. We just had to find a bench somewhere in our day, and sit down next to Him. He always likes to chat things over with us, give us a hug.

What are we waiting for?