Bossington Beach

Monday 18th January 2021 17:28

Bossington Beach is full of stones with a large shingle ridge that you have to climb to get to the sea. At one point streams gently merge and disappear beneath the shingle to make their way to the sea. But the stones and shingle have held... that is until storm Bella on 27 December 2020.

Storm Bella’s rainfall made the streams and rivers into torrents. At the same time a high tide in the Bristol Channel forced the sea over the shingle ridge and the sea and the river combined to smash a 6 foot breach in the shingle. And as a result the hidden streams and rivers have been exposed.

For centuries the followers of Jesus have been faithfully living out His values, quietly feeding the hungry, clothing the naked and housing the homeless. Largely unnoticed we have been gently undermining the importance of  possessions, self-centredness and the desire for control.

Coronavirus has been a mighty storm which has breached the shingle ridge and revealed the hidden streams and at last our Christ-like values are being highlighted by the media. For example:

• Saying thank you to key workers including the NHS, teachers the supermarkets, pharmacies and the bin men. 
• Caring for others like Captain Tom did by walking around his garden 
• The generosity of the primary head who delivered free school meals to his pupils at home.
• The self giving of the elderly lady in ICU who refused a ventilator so it could go to a younger person.

A breach has been made. The river of Christian values has been exposed. Let’s live out Jesus values with renewed vigour to make sure the shingle and stones do not return and obscure them again.