Crammed with Heaven: A letter from home and the man I married

A monthly column in which Jenni Pretorius Hill shares stories of hope which bring Heaven’s perspective to Earth

The people I most like to be with, are those who appreciate and celebrate life’s simple joys. I was living in London when I met the man I would eventually marry. Not entirely certain of my own heart, I asked my parents advice on the qualities they would like to see in my future spouse. Their response came from South Africa in a handwritten letter; my mother wrote pages and my dad added a pertinent paragraph at the end. I thought their advice wise and considered, but for one point of which I was slightly dismissive because I was too young to recognise just how weighty it was. My mother promoted the  man who would bend low to consider a wildflower hidden in a field of grasses. 

Now, I understand her reason; it was not about the flower, or interest in botany, but rather the importance in cultivating a sense of wonder. I will give the same advice to my children one day. ‘Marry someone who recognises truth and beauty in the most obscure places and who is not too proud to stop and pause and celebrate the most humble of life’s gifts.’  

It is easy to applaud the skill in a great piece of art, or to admire a display of natural beauty, but it is the rare few who will pause for long enough to recognise the hidden wonder behind a façade of ordinariness, or even ugliness. Our church is in a suburb that shouts poverty and deprivation in the dilapidation of buildings and rubbish on the streets. Although not rich, our community is awash with wealth and I have only seen it because I have been taught by others to stop, and look for the goodness found in the people who live there. I have seen it in hard-working single mothers; people with very little who give what they have to feed a hungry neighbour; students who dream of changing the world, and sweet-faced children who congregate on the streets and storm our gate on a Sunday for church. I have seen the sky above our weather-worn roof splashed with the orange and red of sunset, and the summer blue of the sea that lies just half a kilometre from our front door. 

I hope I would have recognised the loveliest One of all, the most beautiful of men, and not walked past in disbelief of finding the divine amidst the squalor of a stable.  As Christmas approaches, we remember Jesus who left the perfection of Heaven to allow us to experience His presence here on earth. He is everywhere; His very nature is displayed in the world around us and in every human being we interact with. He is Immanuel: God with us. 

After 22 years of marriage, I can say my husband embodies everything my parents applauded in their letter. He is not able to name the flower, or the insect, or the type of rock that he summons his family to admire, but he stops to examine, and to wonder at whatever it is that has caught his eye. His natural bent for wonder has always been there, but as he has grown in friendship and intimacy with God, his appreciation for everything that life offers has grown too. When we grow to truly know our Creator, we start to recognise Him in everything around us; the most humblest of things bears testimony to His unsurpassed brilliance.  

May you discover the wonder of Christmas anew, and as you reflect on the year past and consider the one to come, may you recognise His presence with you, and anticipate His goodness waiting to surprise you at the next corner.

Elizabeth Barrett Browning, English poet of the early 19^th century, inspired the title for my column. I will leave you with the extract below, taken from her blank-verse novel, Aurora Leigh. 

Earth’s crammed with heaven,

And every common bush afire with God, 
But only he who sees takes off his shoes;
The rest sit round and pluck blackberries.

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