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It was a glorious day and we took the opportunity
to take our eldest son and his son for a meal in the beer garden of
one of the oldest and by far the finest pub in Wales (if you are interested
it is the White Hart Inn, Llanddarog). We watched our grandson play
on the slide and study the rabbits, caught up with the news and simply
enjoyed the meal, the company and the day. Life is so fleeting and it
is important to seize every moment to celebrate the good things.
Across the road from the pub is a beautiful Anglican Church and we walked
through the graveyard to take in the stunning view of this area of Carmarthenshire,
seeing Paxton's Tower on a hill in the distance. The tower was built
by Sir William Paxton to celebrate Lord Nelson after the latter's visit
to Carmarthen in 1802 when Paxton was mayor. Built 500 feet above the
Towy Valley it is said that from the flat top you can see seven counties
on a clear day. That would have included Paxton's substantial estate
which, as an improving landlord, he had extended to some 2,650 acres.
It truly is a lovely part of the world and, though our own view wasn't
as grand and expansive as that from the top of Paxton's Tower, even
our grandson was anxious to find the best vantage point and take it
all in.
Strolling back through the graveyard we lingered to read the inscriptions
on the graves. Some we saw went back almost two hundred years and I
am sure there are older. Some were tragic because they told of the loss
of a child. Others were poignant because they reflected a loss after
a lifetime of devotion by a husband or wife, "Now you are finally at
rest - beloved". There were school teachers, builders, stonemasons,
physicians and the one thing they had in common was that they all ended
up here in the churchyard of the church of Saint Twrog.
As I think of this special Easter season, the most important date in
the Christian calendar, I can't help reflecting on how difficult it
can be, in the middle of a busy life, to get the balance right between
our place here on earth and our place in eternity. A good meal in convivial
company on a fine day is something to celebrate, the opportunity to
improve a country estate and celebrate a great British hero is a thing
not to be missed. And who could disagree with the Newport-born poet
W H Davies who, in his poem "Leisure", wrote, "A poor life this if,
full of care, We have no time to stand and stare."
Yet we can so lose ourselves in the good things of this life that we
forget that, like the residents of Saint Twrog's churchyard, we will
one day face what Paul calls the last enemy. Despite the fanciful dreams
of alchemists, mystics and so-called visionaries down the ages the fact
is that we come to this same place. How can we begin each day of this
life, build our towers, improve our estate and enjoy the view with true
confidence, honest ambition and real hope both for this life and eternity?
The good news of Easter is that Christ has faced the last enemy for
us,
For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ
shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits,
then at his coming those who belong to Christ. Then comes the end, when
he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule
and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all
his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death.
(1 Cor.15:22-28)
This is the good news we share. All that are in Christ shall be made
alive. Think of that and have a joyous and peaceful time this Easter.
He is risen. He is risen indeed.
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