Sunday was a glorious day
so off we all trekked
on an hour’s journey
to Portglenone Forest
to see the bluebells.

The car park was busy –
young families picnicking, barbequing
and taking photographs.

We savoured the sight
of chalk-purple hills
as we breathed-in hyacinth-scented air .
The slopes of the forest
were truly beautiful,
even other-worldly.

A long drive
seemed like a small price to pay
for this purple wonderland!

Back at work on Monday
I walked up the Falls Road
and what did I find?
A bluebell glade
only minutes from the city centre!

I was stunned –
we had traipsed all the way to Portglenone
to see the bluebells
and here they were,
all along,
on our doorstep!

Isn’t life like that sometimes?
We hurry and get stressed-out
as we rush here and there
on our own personal quest for peace,
forgetting all the while
that God, with his precious gift of peace,
is so much closer
than any of us can imagine.

Help me, Lord, to find you
in my ordinary, every-day life
where you are so near to me –
closer, even, than the air I breathe.

© Claire Murray, 17th May 2016