Westminster Abbey

Today I was supposed to visit Buckingham palace to see the changing of the guard. But due to the fact that Wimbledon is currently in progress, access to Southfields station is slow. Consequently I only arrived at Victoria station at 11:35, so I decided to skip the guards for today, and go directly to the other sites that I wanted to see, namely Big Ben and Westminster Abbey.

As I came out of the tube station at Westminster I could not seem to find Big Ben. I mean come on, how hard can it be to find an oversized clock tower? Then I noticed the people in front of me pointing at something behind me. Sheepishly I turned around, and there he was. Golden clockwork and all. I must admit, Big Ben and the surrounding buildings of Parliament are truly impressive. The English sure know how to build big.

Then it was off to Westminster Abbey. The church where kings and queens are crowned and buried. After standing in the sun for 30 min, I finally got to the front of the queue and the blessed coolness of the abbey. As one walks into the abbey, your breath is taken away by the sheer size of the place. The glass stained windows are magnificent and the roof soars above ones head. And then you look down and all magnificence is lost. The place is cluttered with memorials, busts, statues and tombs. Hardly a wall or piece of floor space does not contain some memorial to some or the other English hero. Don’t get me wrong, the statuary is beautiful, but it is just too much. It is as if each king and queen thought they could immortalize themselves with by buying a spot of earth in Gods house. And the worst is that each statue stands with hands clasped in attitude of holiness and each face has this pious expression. But still, the experience was enlightening, if only to see what beauty the human hand can sculpt.

It took quite some time to walk through the abbey, due to the fact that one has to bob and weave through all the clutter. But then I got to the nave. A nice open area, with banks of candles along the sides. As I stood there, with the light and warmth of the candles bathing my face; my thoughts and emotions suddenly started swirling. I do not know why, but I stepped forward then, and lit one. I lit a candle for a broken heart and a lost love. And then I prayed. I thanked God for the bounty that he had given me. For three months in my life I had known such joy and happiness as no man has a right to. I also prayed for strength, strength for the one I love, strength for myself and strength for doing what is right. And then with tears streaming down my face, I said goodbye.

Let it not be said that God does not work in mysterious ways. Even through all of those negative feelings towards the local statuary and the pompousness of the church, God still managed to reach through to me and lay a hand on my life. Makes one think.

And so ends my third post.