A is for ANNECY

"Why not go to Annecy?" Graham said, " You'd love it there." I wasn't so sure. After all, if it was so wonderful, why had I never heard of it before now. Still, based on the fact that my learned friend had known to be correct in the past, I went with my gut feeling and his recommendation and took the plunge. So I began to surf, something which I had always wanted to do since I first saw the Atlantic breakers in Portrush, but now could do in the safety of my own home without any fear of drowning and before long we had pictures, maps, hotels, flights and everything else we needed for the perfect holiday. As the school term drew painstakingly to a conclusion, I longed for peaceful evenings by a French lake, sipping coffee in a little cafe, chewing over another lazy day's events in a romantic restaurant and listening to my wife use her second language to communicate with the locals. And then as the time of our departure grew closer, I began to encounter many others who had already been to the little town nestled on the shores of the lake, from which it had taken its name. All the reports were more than favourable, echoing Graham's initial encouraging words and I soon even discovered that it had been the subject of a BBC Holiday programme, thus our anticipation increased by the hour.

They say that expectations are difficult to live up to, but the town and its lake at the foot of the French Alps had no difficulty in exceeding our hopes. It was a little piece of heaven, where the sun shone, the lake shimmered and the locals and tourists blended in one harmonious mix of colour and tranquility. And we did all the things we had dreamed of doing and more, as life returned to the slow, easy pace that has no room for the stresses and impatience of the modern world. We were set free, to enjoy the beauty of a snow -capped mountain, the purity of clear, still water, the majesty of an eagle soaring across an open expanse and even the music of a field of cowbells as their owners grazed in the fading sunlight of an alpine evening. And I wondered, why had noone told me about it before? And then, of course, I knew. Nobody likes giving away secrets.

Jesus made no secret that he was preparing a special home for all who believed in him when he said, "In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you." He knew how wonderful a place it was going to be for he had been there already and there can be no greater recommendation than that. You know, I had my own vision of what Annecy would be like and despite all the explanations and pictures, the reality was completely different and so much better. As I read Revelation 21about that special place we call heaven and am reminded that crying, death and pain are no more and that God will live among his children, I am excited that the most colourful image I can create will never do justice to the real thing. Don't keep it a secret!