One of the challenging things about learning a foreign language is not just assimilating new vocabulary and pronunciation, but accepting that word order and structure (syntax) will also be different. This is particularly true of German, where verbs often change position in a sentence and adverbs occur in a strict order that differs from English.

The order of adverbs in German was taught to me with a simple phrase: ‘Time, Manner, Place.’ Adverbs telling us when something happens (today, tomorrow, next week) come first; then adverbs telling us how something is done (quickly, slowly, and so on) and finally where it is done (at school, at home, in Frankfurt.) Thus (for any linguists out there!), ‘ich fahre morgens langsam nach Hause’ (in English, ‘tomorrow I’m going slowly home’, but literally ‘I’m going tomorrow slowly home.’)

These three elements – time, manner and place – form essential ingredients in our daily lives. Eugene Peterson comments that one of the tasks a pastor must do is to make people aware that their lives ‘make sense and are meaningful in the actual environments in which they live at that moment.’ (‘Five Smooth Stones for Pastoral Work’, P 110) Our lives are not random and coincidental; they are part of God’s great ‘salvation history’ (another phrase coined by German theologians in their lovely word ‘Heilsgeschichte‘!) The times in which we live and the place in which we live are not random and coincidental. They are chosen by God who holds our times in His hands (Ps 31:15) and determines the places we live (Acts 17:26).

This week I have pondered other places, exploring the spectacular scenery of the Yorkshire Dales.

This apparently tropical scene was captured at Hardraw Force, a waterfall near Hawes:

DSC_0320Hardraw Force:

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAI have lived at a different pace, meandering over the dales on narrow, twisting roads which prohibit reckless speed and demand concentration and appreciation of God’s wonderful creation.

view over the Dales with roadI have ‘slowed down time’ (Jeremy Camp), as it were, to savour and sample rural life, watching a sheepdog demonstration that reflects the skills of both shepherd and dog as they have been handed down over generations:

sheepdog demoThe time, manner and place change when we are on holiday; we rest and are transformed as we explore new places at a more leisurely pace and take time to be re-charged. But these three elements are crucial to our everyday lives too and must be fully appreciated and explored as we recognise that our every part of our lives is woven into God’s amazing salvation story.