Driving has done us well. We've made it from the southern part of England through the "Midlands" to the Holy Island of Lindisfarne and now to Durham. Tomorrow, we return to our "home base" near Cambridge and turn in the rental car. The rest of the time here in Europe, we will be traveling by train or by bus.
There are many, many things we could say... but one theme that has connected our different parts of England is "underground." In Bath, we saw what treasure an everyday-dig brought forth - the discovery of the ancient Roman baths. Not far from there, we took the children to Wookey Hole where we explored underground caves with a spectacularly clear river running through it. In northern England, we explored castles and saw the "underground" very scary dungeons. On the Holy Island*, the road went underground - or maybe better said "underwater" - as it does each day as the tide comes in and out. You can only travel to and from the island at certain times... thus we arrived by road in the morning and left when the road reappeared in the evening.
So much story lies beneath. In fact, maybe it is safe to say that the real story lies beneath. This is true of our own individual stories, too. People meet each other at surface level and we often get no further - not even at church. But we have stories underneath - sometimes terrifying and hurtful (like dungeons)... sometimes healing (like the baths)... sometimes intriguing (like the road to the island)... but those stories always reveal something. So dig into your own story... we've had to do some digging into ours... like Chamie discovering that "Lord Shelburne" (that's her maiden name, an English name) is a well-known, prominent man around here. We've had to wrestle with our undersides, the good and bad that travel brings out of you. There are so many stories underneath... so, yes, listen and learn from your own underground story... and take the time, too, to get to know someone else a little bit deeper.
We will tell you more story when we get the chance. Until then, thank you for the prayers; you are in ours, too.
* We will have Aidan write to you about the Holy Island - where St. Aidan was a missionary in 635 AD.
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