Thursday, November 15, 2007

Boreham on Distancing Ourselves and Discernment

One of the F W Boreham stories used in my new online book, Making Life Decisions, is this one:

“F W Boreham tells how he was strolling among some tulip beds in the Rosherville Gardens at Gravesend.[1] He loved the ‘riot of colors’ as he admired one flower bed after another. On leaving the gardens he climbed a cliff path and when he got to a landing he looked down and saw the flower beds again, spread out beneath him. He could no longer see the individual flowers but he could survey the entire design of the garden and lawns. Looking down at the floral scene he observed that the tulips had been arranged in an elaborate pattern and across the centre of the gardens the colourful flowers spelt out the words, ‘God Save the King’.

Sometimes we are tyrannized by the details of finding our way and walking the journey that we cannot comprehend the full picture. It is a helpful thing to regularly distance ourselves from everyday life in order to discern life’s beauty and meaning.”

To see how this story forms part of a 40 day journey of discernment, check this link:

To start from the beginning and see how this book can be used by individuals, by groups (even people emailing on the opposite sides of the world) and by congregations in a concerted period of learning and seeking, go to the first page at:

Making Life Decisions: Journey in Discernment

Mark it as a favorite for an easy return.

Geoff Pound

Image: Text of truths in tulips!


[1] F W Boreham, A Late Lark Singing (London: The Epworth Press, 1945), 153.