For example, I was taking a junior member of our Corps to a camp in Creswick and as we drove out of town I realised it only takes five minutes to be amongst some of the most beautiful changing scenery. I think that life is fast and I don’t stop to reflect and enjoy what surrounds us.

On this trip, my passengers were deep in conversation while I was just enjoying the drive and taking in the natural beauty and contrast of this area. A few miles on was the amazing sight of bright yellow canola crops on both sides of the road, with the Grampians in the distance. I just thought to myself how splendid and I gave a thought to all the families and our forefathers who have worked the land for generations.

I felt a lot of respect for all of the people on the land who have had to ride the ebbs and flows, living day-to-day at times and taking the good with the bad but soldiering on nevertheless. I felt a sense of pride to have the privilege of living in this beautiful place which changes constantly throughout the seasons.

I have been very fortunate to travel to different places around the world and see how others live. Seeing some of the conditions people have to endure and live in makes me feel that I never want to take for granted where I live. The challenge for me and possibly for a lot of us is to take time to appreciate what we have and encourage our children to do the same. We need to respect ourselves and our land and look after it for our future generations, so then they can also take that drive and be in awe of the wonderful place we call home.

Ecclesiastes 3:11: “He has made everything beautiful in his time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.”