True North

Have you seen the North

That cold grey place 

Don't want its shadow anymore

On my face 

A man grows bitter 

We're a bitter race 

Some of us never get to see 

A better place.

Elton John and Bernie Taupin - The North

"And at once the Spirit drove Jesus into the wilderness"

Mark 1:12.

So, here we are, six months into this strangest of times,

when most of us are seeking to navigate ourselves towards what is clearly going to be a very hard winter with no respite in sight.

Whatever you think about the current situation, the biting truth is that for the vast majority, the manner of life we now must endeavour to navigate is one of ever-changing rules and restrictions that mean that pretty much everything once taken for granted is now almost impossible.

We have entered a crucible in respect to pretty much every aspect of human life, and there is clearly no telling as to when or if it will be over in any viable sense anytime soon.

I've spent most of the time so far being a "key worker", so my daily routine didn't change too much, but the differences really came home this past week as I found myself amongst life in the cities during a week's leave.

The telling sight in many places was the apprehension I registered in many older faces of those out in public. Younger folk tended to take it all as business as usual - the gift of youthful adaptability, no doubt, but the older faces were clearly troubled, knowing it isn't meant to be like this.

The greatest genuine worry, I suspect, is the growing discrepancy between what's being required of us and what is actually taking place in the general state of play (deaths and severe conditions continue to be low, but the "noise" about "cases" is louder than ever). Some are beginning to ask, rightly in my view, is this really going to help in any meaningful way?

So where do each of us go from here?

It appears that we also have been 'driven' into a wilderness - an uncharted territory where in practical terms, we often find ourselves facing these perilous conditions almost naked and highly uncertain in regards to where this journey leads.

Here, as Lewis once noted, we can easily face the allure of pagan 'northernness' - a realm of endless, vast expanse and chill that gnaws into us in such an overwhelming fashion so that we become fused to a far colder existence.

The intent, however, is not to acclimatise us to something 'lower' than what is truly good - but to see redemption at work even within these surroundings.

Rather than leading us to a slough of despond 

(the moribund and stagnant reflections of the soured waters of own selves) the aim is to raise our gaze upward to the shining clarity of the unspoiled surroundings and the majesty of the canopy above and beyond ourselves.

The true power, even severity, of deep beauty works upon us here to scar our souls deeply with the genuine power and authority of unmerited love and overshadowing care.

Once this works upon us and burns our souls, then we can face any and every trial with a fresh and genuine confidence that carries us even beyond death into the very embrace of matrimony to the beloved redeemer of all things.

Let us seek that manner for aid in this time - that that true bright star will guide us across these seasons in the north, and make them plentiful in the treasures they bestow.