WAR
A visit to the Imperial war museum last week, with four of the boys, was a very sobering experience. It was good to be able to compare the 'real' one with the new Imperial War Museum North (which we visited last year while staying in Manchester, at my Dad's). The one in Manchester is offering an atmosphere of complete futility and meaninlessness which was thoroughly depressing. It was, to my eyes, disordered and very subjective - they were trying to offer 'impressions' rather than information - I am just glad I didn't have to pay to go in, and also glad that the whole party (my mother included) were only to glad to leave when I thought I could stand it no more.

On the other hand the London museum was informative and interesting - lots of history presented in various ways. My favourite is the hand-sets which you can pick up and hear the voices of people who were eye-witnesses. We only covered a small part of it and the boys are keen on going back. I determined that I wouldn't like to go in the Holocaust exhibition but of course concentration camps were covered a little in the WWII section in any case. The large exhibition hall has a small rowing boat which had been used in the evacuation from Dunkirk - having read 'The Miracle of Dunkirk' (out loud) last summer this was really bringing history to life for me. There was a special children's exhibition on submarines in which the boys were able to try out a bed - how a grown man finds it adequate I don't know! They also could find out about periscopes and radar.

Being me, I always wonder what is God's perspective on all this stuff. One picture had a quote from George Eliot (I think!) 'in every parting there is an image of death' - that had me thinking. When we kiss our little ones goodnight that is a picture of death (and when they bounce in joyfully in the morning there is the picture of ressurection) and of course parting with loved ones on earth must be a picture of death since we don't know if we will see them again. That, at least, accounts for the pain.

But what can we LEARN from all of this? Well, if war means anything it must be a very small glimpse of the effects of that terrible deed in the garden of Eden. Strange that the home of so much beauty should be the seed-bed of such horror. And of course, before all that there was the aweful rebellion of Satan and it is him we have to thank for the terror and destruction of war. What should we do then? We cannot prevent our boys from joining the military if we wish to be defended from agressors - it would be wrong to leave it to 'someone else'.

How glad I am that the past, present and even the future are in the hands of an Almighty, wise and loving Father.