Lord,
as I sit at prayer this evening
in our wee holiday house
in Carraigart
I see an expanse of sea and land
stretched out before me.

Silhouetted against a green sky
I see the hills of Ross Goill
and of Ards Peninsula.
In the distance
lies dark Horn Head.
Central to the scene
is the silvery shimmer of the waters
of Sheep Haven Bay.
Orange street lights and car headlights
twinkle at me
all around.

Yet, at the same time last night
I could only see two things:
a small fence framed by rushes
at the foot of our garden
and mist
which had crept in
from the Atlantic
and had effectively hidden from sight
this entire, beautiful landscape.

Lord,
sometimes I experience a strong sense
of your love, delight, playfulness,
peace and comfort
in my life.
At other times
you feel distant.
When that happens, Lord,
remind me
that you have not left me
but that for a while
you have simply been hidden from my sight
by the mists
of my spiritual life
and that when these mists lift again,
as they will,
you will reveal yourself once more to me
with all of the beauty, peace and wonder
of a summer’s night
at Carraigart.

© Claire Murray