More than once I've heard Yorkshire described as 'God's own county'. As a son of Lancashire I've questioned this every now and then, but truth to tell Yorkshire, or certain parts of it anyway, are very beautiful and very much make you think about the God who created everything.
I've been for a trip to the North Yorkshire Dales today, partly to visit some of our relatives on my wife's side and partly just for a day out. The sky was a brilliant blue as we arrived in Hawes mid-morning with just one stray white cloud drifting lazily past. The scenery on the way had been spectacular as it always is and it had been a joy to see the signs of new life in young Spring lambs and the signs of rebirh and renewal with leaves and blossom on the trees. In Hawes we bought local dry cure bacon from the Elijah Allen store, surely the best bacon in the world and just had a walk in the sunshine.
Then more driving in warm sunhine and enjoying more fantatic scenery, visiting relatives and drinking many cups of tea (getting in some practice for all the tea and coffee I'll drink doing pastoral visits) before ending up in Thirsk for an hour where I browsed bookshops an charity shops and ended up very cheaply adding to my increasingly large library of theological tomes.
The next stop was Masham where the Joneva Sweet hop stocks the best vanilla fudge in the whole world; and finally a visit to the Brymour ice cream parlour where you can buy some of the best ice cream in the world!
Driving home, again enjoying warm sunshine and the amazing Dales countryside, I reflected that Yorkshire may or may not be 'God's Own Country', but that God certainly made it in all its wonder and glory and I thanked him in my heart for the wonderful food, the gorgeous views and the great day we had together as a family.
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