Day 5 morning

Every day is a day that the Lord has made - but today is especially his day, the day of resurrection and usually I would be worshipping with his people. I could have found a local church - preferably with reliable information about it's services!!! - but I have chosen to worship in the beauty of His creation instead - and I've blessed to see plenty of that.
The Peak District can never be compared to the majesty of the Lakes, Snowdonia, the Hebridean Isles. the Highlands ....... But don't underestimate the beauty of the hills, the dales, the peace and quiet when you know how to find them.

Today got off to a funny start. Having carefully rechecked the bus times the day before my departure, I still fell victim to my dodgy eyesight, failing to see the shading on either the web or my printed black and white timetable denoting that the first bus on a Sunday doesn't stop in Matlock! After a moment of intense frustration, I managed to engage my "flexible and adaptable" mode and decided to walk my chosen route in reverse. You may be wondering how someone who can't be relied upon to follow a route forwards reliably might possibly follow it backwards! But, though I say it myself, I didn't do too badly.
The route required me to set off through the main car park. The bottom section of this has been adapted as a (semi permanent) travellers' camp. Searching the far end of their encampment for the path, I was confronted by a rather angry looking member of the their community wanting to know where I was going to an accompaniment of barking dogs. I managed to muster a friendly grin and explained my predicament and he couldn't have been pleasanter. He told me how the path had been diverted and how to get back on it. He wished me a good walk and I wished him a good day. As I left the site, I reflected that his day would be utterly different to mine and his whole worldview poles apart from mine but I felt profoundly thankful to God that in that moment we had had a brief friendly interaction and a moment of mutual acceptance which felt precious, sacred to me, at least.
Within minutes I was on a riverside path and all frustrations from earlier disappeared. It was just glorious.
The path was mostly close to the river Derwent and with just a few blips I was able to follow it to Rowsley.
I was reminded at one point that God has given us 5 senses. When unsure if I was in the right place, the directions (reading upside down still?!??) referred to a property with lots of stables and I realised I was experiencing the aroma of lots of horse ......Eyesight a bit dodgy, brain pretty flaky (I know that's not a sense) but smell is still intact, thank you LordRead more