Vicar’s June letter

Dear friends,
Sian and I had a couple of days away last week. We stayed at a Travelodge in Ilminster, Somerset but really just used this as a base to pop down to the South Coast. I love the coast and we try to get to the coast when we get chance. This trip was a special one for me as I got to visit Charmouth and Lyme Regis. When I was in my teens and twenties, my parents had a caravan at Charmouth and I visited there many times, with Lyme Regis being a regular destination during stays there. I was keen to find the site where we used to stay. It was a small, family run site, off the beaten track and was not easy to find. My memory of where it was had got somewhat muddled over the years and I took a few wrong turns before eventually tracking it down and taking a photo of the caravan in the same position as my parents’ van.
Reflecting on this, I thought it was a little odd that it was so important to me to find the site. There was no reason to go there, we did not stay when we found it and it was not our destination for the day, just a somewhat time-consuming detour. Sian was patient and understanding, but, I think, a little confused as to why it mattered so much to me.
Maybe I am a little odd, but I think there is often a strong association between places and memories. This is something that seems to be encouraged in the Bible. In the Old Testament there are many occasions when a particular event occurs and then a monument or altar is placed there to mark the spot where the event occurred, and in due course to enable people to go back to the spot and remember the event.
In the New Testament the locations of places where events occur seem important and I know many people who have visited the Holy Land to go to places where Jesus was, where he walked and talked, where he preached and taught, where he performed certain miracles. Some of these places are well known and can be easily identified, others the location is not so sure but a suitable spot has been identified to represent the location. I have never been to the Holy Land, but I have been to various places where Paul visited or spoke: Athens, Corinth, Malta; and these have been special to me.
Do you have special places that you like to visit to recall memories of certain events in your life? Do you have special places that you like to visit to remind you of particular historical or Biblical events? Have you visited the Holy Land or other Biblical locations? I would love to hear some of your stories. Please share with me when you get chance. Thanks.
God Bless,