London -- Week 4 (the museums)

This was a week of museums - the British Museum, the National Gallery and the National Portrait Gallery.  The weather was a bit cold and rainy, so we chose indoor adventures (ie introduce your toddlers to the world's ancient civilizations in less than a day!).  We also spent time in Hyde Park and Kew Gardens, and we're tired!  We need to balance a bit better the desire to take in as much as we can, with the need to rest.  Emma informed us one evening: "I don't like walking and walking and walking!"

I found the Assyrian section of the British museum particularly meaningful.  I think I'd never realized, or considered before, what powerful adversaries Israel was up against.  All these thousands of years later, I found their sculptures and carvings of their gods and their battles intimidating - imagine what it must have been like then - all that vast technology and military power versus little Israel, commanded by God not to have horses, but to rely on YHWH.  No wonder Israel's kings were so often fickle and tempted to make alliances with evil - their enemies were mighty! 

There was also a section of artifacts from Ninevah - carvings depicting various victories in gruesome detail.  It was no small exageration in Jonah to call it a wicked city.  I was struck anew by how Jonah is a truly outrageous story of God's mercy.

It is interesting (and a bit challenging) visiting musuems with small children.  I found that I saw things very differently, walking around, trying to engage Emma in what we were seeing.  She and Brianna were both tickled to recognize cats in the Egypt section at the British Museum, for example.  And that night our Bible story was the Exodus and Emma recognized the chariots and horses of the Egyptians in her book as being like all the ones we'd seen in the museum that day.  So fascinating to watch her making connections.

On Sunday we worshipped with All Souls Church, where John Stott preached for many years.  The service was very different from any of the others we've attended - more contemporary and in many ways more familiar.  We are looking forward to meeting with leaders from All Souls and Southwark Cathedral later this week.

I've begun reading No god but God:  the Origins, Evolution, and Future of Islam by Reza Aslan.  I know very little about Islam and I'm finding it very helpful and engaging.  We see Muslims everywhere we go here, and I'm eager to learn more.  I've also continued to read The Celtic Way of Prayer by Esther De Waal, tonight a section on the presence of God, noticing how often Celtic prayers use the words encircle, encompass, uphold and surround and how Celtic Christians seemed to have a sense of God's presence with them in the everyday tasks and challenges of life.  We've been praying for you all this week, especially for Harry and his family, that you might feel God's love encircling and upholding you.

Pastor Elizabeth

p.s. The shoes - we spent a bit of time in various stores this week finding replacement shoes for Brianna, settling on a pair we thought would be harder for her to take off - and it took her less than an hour for them to start dropping again . . .