I CAN ONLY IMAGINE THE TREMENDOUS VALUE of the Land so far as both the people of antiquity and the Indigenous are concerned. I have to concur. The Land, for me also, has tremendous power and significance about it. Land is sacred to the heart. Our histories are indelibly attached to it.
I took the opportunity recently to re-trace some of my personal heritage. I have found that cherishing the land is a big part of cherishing my heritage—it’s about cherishing the very parts that have ‘become me.’
Re-tracing my heritage “trails” involved both old land and new land; reflecting over times significant in the past as well as foreseeing the significance of events—or certainly landmarks—of the future.
Watching the land is amazing. How it changes. A place I went back to was the land of my grandmother’s—I stayed with her for a few months, now over twenty years ago. She has since passed away long ago and the block of units we lived in has long been swept away. The whole area looks vastly different. I also visited my favourite university café and found the menu had changed—no more cheap and ‘to die for’ food there! And whilst these things had changed, the land had not. I’m thankful to God for that fact!
What of the New Land?
A time of change is not just sad, it’s a happy time too as we gain anticipation of what the new time—a new season—might bring. New routines, new surroundings—a totally fresh environment.
Watching the land gives way also to respecting the land. It’s vital that we respect it; not simply physically—but spiritually too. To cherish the land’s role in our lives, and let the memories live on; this is what I mean.
The land is inherently part of our heart. It is sacred just as our hearts are. The testimony of our memories gives the land this treasured legacy as both the means to and manifestation of our heart.
The Land is the context of life. It is God’s landscape for meaning.
© 2010 S. J. Wickham.
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