Count Your Blessings #124 – Standing on history

Last week I was near Washington D.C. on business. Unlike many business trips we actually had some time see a couple of sites.

On one trip we went up into Washington D.C. and went around the sites including Capitol Hill, the Washington Monument, and the Lincoln Memorial from where Martin Luther King Jnr. gave his famous “I have a dream” speech. One of the steps up to the memorial is marked with an inscription marking the event. Standing on the step looking out I got a new sense of the historic events that took place – on that very spot.

At the end of the trip we had a couple of hours spare which we used to visit the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum Udvar-Hazy Center. In the middle of the museum sits the B-29 Superfortress bomber Enola Gay.  This is the aircraft that dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima just before the end of World War II. Standing in front of this hulk of polished metal I tried to imagine how it must have felt inside the cockpit on that day. What did they talk about on the way out? What did they talk about on the way back? How did they feel about their role in the events of 6th August 1945 as they lived the rest of their lives?

On Saturday, after my return, I went to a friend’s wedding. This was the wedding of someone who had been part of the church youth work years ago when Sue and I were involved. It was a historic event especially for the bride and the groom.

Each of these events resonate through time. Each of these events have changed the world in which I live. Each of these events will continue to change the world in which I live. Some in relatively minor ways, for me, others in more significant ways. They are all part of my history.

Few people would doubt that Jesus was a historic figure. H.G. Wells once said this:

“I am an historian, I am not a believer, but I must confess as a historian that this penniless preacher from Nazareth is irrevocably the very centre of history. Jesus Christ is easily the most dominant figure in all history.”

His history continues to resonate and continues to influence. His history continues to be a part of my history too.

(Unfortunately, I didn’t take my camera with me on my trip, so a picture from my garden will have to be a more than adequate substitute.)