Recently I went to the beach – quite an excitement for anyone who lives right in the middle of the UK!  Along the Lincolnshire coast there are magnificent sandy beaches which stretch for miles with practically nobody else there, certainly not in early October.  The bird life on Theddlethorpe National Nature Reserve was impressive.  I readily admit I’m no ornithologist, but even I understand the excitement of seeing birds such as sanderling, godwit and sandpiper hopping along the shoreline or taking off in perfect formation.

The pristine sand was decorated in places with millions of rippled interleaving patterns etched by the retreating tide, and the scattered shellfish cases and worm casts were evidence of why birds find the shoreline such an abundant feeding ground.  As we walked across the empty sands, we looked in every direction at the vast sky and banks of cloud, and (too chilly for paddling barefoot!) we felt our wellies washed by the gentle waves of the outgoing tide.  It was a good place to ponder on the meaning of life, and how God created the beauty of the earth.  And as we made our way back down the beach, I saw our earlier footprints still perfectly imprinted in the sand.  It reminded me of a favourite Footprints poem:

One night I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord. 

 Many scenes from my life flashed across the sky. 

 In each scene I noticed footprints in the sand. 

 Sometimes there were two sets of footprints. 

 Other times there were one set of footprints. 

 This bothered me because I noticed that 

during the low periods of my life, 

when I was suffering from anguish, sorrow, or defeat, 

I could see only one set of footprints. 

So I said to the Lord, "You promised me, Lord, that if I followed you, 

you would walk with me always. 

But I noticed that during the most trying periods of my life 

there has only been one set of prints in the sand. 

Why, when I have needed you most, have you not been there for me?" 

The Lord replied, "The times when you have seen only one set of footprints 

is when I carried you." 

As we left the beach, I was struck by the low-lying land just inside the coastal dunes.  This is vulnerable to flooding but is clearly excellent agricultural land, and it provides homes for many people who live with the potential threat of storms and spring tides causing huge disruption and loss of life.  These forces lie outside their control but the worry must always be there in the back of their minds.  The exceptional high tide flooding of 1953 affected much of the east coast of England and caused one of the worst peace-time disasters this country has seen.  And if global warming continues, our carbon footprint will lead to rising sea levels, and large parts of Lincolnshire could disappear under the sea by 2050, affecting 150,000 people.  Other parts of the UK at risk include coastal areas in East Lothian, the north east, East Anglia, London, the south east, the south west, Wales and the north west.  Such a terrifying prospect is truly an incentive for us to pay serious heed to the scientists’ warnings about the need to cut carbon emissions if we are to avoid future natural disasters both globally and at a more local level.

Sarah Bourne, Chaplain for the Arts – 14^th October 2020   sarahbourne@banburystmary.org.uk