Kent Walk

On a beautiful rainy Saturday, a group of us set off to Kent to do a walk.  It was led by George, a member of the church who has lived in England his whole life.  We took the train to meet him there, leaving the busy city life of London behind.  As soon as we stepped off the platform, we entered into a town noticeably very calm and peaceful.  Since only part of the group made it onto the train, we sat on the grass by a little stream and waited for the others to arrive.  I honestly felt like I would have been happy just sitting there for the day since I felt more at peace there than I had in a while.  As we set off to do the walk with everyone, we walked through a beautiful green foresty area, jumping over rain puddles and stopping to take turns on a small zipline.  Then we entered Lullingstone Country Park, home of the lavender fields.  We first walked through fields of mixed yellow and lavender flowers, stopping to take pictures with friends, and then reached the top of the hill where we could see the huge fields of lavender below.  They were just as I imagined.  Vibrant purple.  Sweet smelling.  Simply magical.

  

George told us that these lavender fields used to be decoy air strips that the Royal Air Force used during World War II.  I would have never known that not only did these lavender fields serve the purpose of being harvested for its lovely aroma, but it also served to help during times of war.   These fields were also in an area that was geographically convenient because it was far away enough from the city and had enough countryside surrounding it to serve this purpose.  For the people of Kent, the lavendar fields were more than just fields.

As we continued through the walk, it had started to rain more, and I was starting to get annoyed and wanted to be done walking.  My shoes were getting wet and muddy, and I was tired and ready to go back.  One of the members of George’s ward, saw me and told me to smile.  He said “rain is just liquid sunshine.”  Just that simple comment changed my attitude around.  In that moment, I realized we were walking through a beautiful wheat field, and I would not have noticed if that man hadn’t stopped me in my pessimistic stupor of thought.  For that man, the rain was more than just rain, and from now on, it will mean more to me too.  I’m grateful that I was able to enjoy the nature around Kent and learn about its history, and remember that it's all about your perspective.