Kilburn White Horse

Sutton Bank is one of the most obnoxiously steep hills in Yorkshire. The first time I drove up it, a decade ago, the 25% gradient persuaded me as I was going to roll backwards, my little car’s second gear barely adequate to keep us going forward. I drove up it again this week, and sure enough, I had to resort to first gear for particularly steep and tight bend. The rest I walked up, which had me, rather than my car, huffing and puffing.

The view from the top more than rewarded the terrors of the climb. It had been a wet and moody day, but the sun was breaking forth through the cloud cover. The various features of the landscape were illuminated in turn, as though the sun wished to point various places out. In front of me lay an unsightly mass of dirty gravel. It looked like a builder’s yard, or one of those front 'gardens' people cover with little stones so they hear can folk approaching the house. Close up, it was rather ugly, a distraction from the marvellous views. Further away, however, and that gravel makes a bigger picture- the White Horse of Kilburn, no less.

There are several of these horse figures cut into the English countryside, the most famous of which are found in Wiltshire. The Yorkshire example is the most northerly, and serves as a landmark by which travellers may ascertain their positions.

Like examining the white horse by looking at the state and colour of the gravel, we might never see its real purpose or beauty. Only when one stands back (by a mile, in this case) can one truly appreciate its worth (below). There are seasons of our lives which seem dry and barren, times of want and discomfort. By themselves, we wonder why God sanctioned them (and sanction them He did). Yet looking back and from a distance, we can see His sovereign grace at work. From heaven, all will be clear; the man or woman of real faith, however, can perceive a bigger picture now, even though they cannot yet comprehend the whole.

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Jeremiah 29:11