message to god in a bottle

Hoo, in Kent

We've found many different types of messages in bottles over the last couple of years. Many are from children, who excitedly hope that someone will find their message that they've thrown into the river or sea. Some have been a symbolic letting go of someone, and others are simply a spontaneous way of expressing onself on a summer's day on finding oneself with an empty plastic bottle and some writing material.  This letter which we found today whilst walking along the River at Hoo, is particularly poignant. Whoever wrote it poured their heart out and threw it to God. Perhaps the act of writing from the heart, sealing it firmly inside a bottle, and flinging it out into the river, was a way of "letting go and letting God".      A transcript is below, as it is a little hard to read, but here is the original letter which I found on the banks of the River Medway at Hoo.  Due to the high tides of late, it was actually in a field as the river had broken it's banks - and it seems to have been written in 2005.  The writer is anonymous, and in any case, even if it had a name, I would preserve the anonymity due to the contents of the letter.

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"Dear God, 

Obviously you remember the last letter from me and I know you always did help me until alcohol and disbeliefs came into my life, and now I'm starting to lose EVERYTHING before my eyes, I know even when I pray it doesn't come from my heart.  They're just words.  this letter is actually very important to me because I'm not gonna just keep writing letters like this.  What I will do is always remember throwing the letter with love and hope.  

I want my family and friends and everyone I love to be happy and successful and always be together for eternity.  Please give me strength and courage to reach for my true dreams.  I will try my hardest if I know once again you show trust and love and faith back into my life.  Times do get hard for me and I just lose focus, that's where I need your help. If I come off alcohol please be with me during the hard times.  2005 could just change my life forever and everyone around me after rehab.  I want it now, life like a reborn Christian or Sikh.  I'll try and always remember the feeling of throwing the bottle to you, the same way I lost everything over the years, I will get them back.  I'll be with you soon in prayer.


I love you eternally God.

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(you know)

Thank you Angel."

I do so hope that person who wrote this letter went on to become healthy and happy and that their prayers were answered.

Luckily, in my experience, God doesn't need to search the coastline for our prayers. He pretty much knows what we need, before we do... 

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remember what I said earlier about spontaneously expressing oneself. read on for message number Two of this weekend.....

Bottle Number 2 of the weekend!

So now for the second bottle of the weekend - found at Higham today.  With yesterday's message putting me in a somewhat contemplative mood, I wasn't expecting this rather blunt note! I had hoped for something a little more deep and meaningful.  However.....

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deep and meaningful message of the day.......

Imagine my disappointment to read this..!  But then again, maybe it's a good message:  not to take 
oneself tooo seriously.... Yes, I can learn to laugh at myself. (and ps, whoever wrote wrote that.... you  spelt "reads" wrong..... so who's the idiot I wonder :)   
and on that note, I'll say ha ha ha, bye...  
xxx

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