James Herriot: Resuscitating the Blind

If ever there was an author whose writings overflow with praise of the Lord, it is James Herriot.  This humble country vet of the Yorkshire dales was so full of wonder and animated love of life that it could not be contained.  It spilled out of him in profusion onto the pages of four wonderful volumes:  All Creatures Great and Small, All Things Bright and Beautiful, All Things Wise and Wonderful, and Every Living Thing.  With great humor and tenderness, James Herriot shares the very commonplace, very real events of his life and work in such a way that his readers are overwhelmed by his palpable joy—his song of praise.  His writings proclaim that he is a man who sees something divine and wonderful in the ordinary.  More than that, he is able to illuminate through his vision.  In his simple tales the reader is able to catch a glimpse of the hidden, divine mysteries that are present in the created world.  He is given new eyes with which to see the world around him.

The stories of James Herriot are neither for dissection nor for diversion.  Intellectuals looking to dismember his works in order to reach a heightened understanding or intellectual mastery over the subject of farm animals best turn their hand away from Herriot.  Readers looking for a book with an engrossing plot and an escape from the mundane will also be disappointed.  His writings offer more than a specimen to be dissected, more than a diverting romp into a different world.  What Herriot offers is more valuable than that—he offers delight.  He invites readers to see things as they are seen in earliest childhood.  He invites them to see the world anew, and share his delight in the wonders of creation.

James Herriot, born in 1916, was a veterinary surgeon working mostly on farm animals in the lovely hills and dales of Yorkshire, England.  All the books in his series All Creatures Great and Small are autobiographical accounts of his life as a country vet.  These stories are joyful accounts of Herriot’s work, home, family, and the people and animals he dealt with on a daily basis.  His books are wholly devoid of plot, and untainted by motives of moralization.  Indeed, they would be spoiled if they were intended to indoctrinate the reader.  These rustic, pastoral anecdotes—devoid of plot though they are—are a delight in and of themselves. While they are decidedly charming, Herriot does not romanticize his work.  The tales are replete with details of the muck, the smells, the grime, the fatigue and the discomfort associated with his job.  Though Mr. Herriot doesn’t spare the unpleasant realities that accompanied his work, he still successfully imparts a spirit of true wonder and happiness.  The very grossest aspects of his job are so humorously and lightly delivered.  It is clear that even they were a source of amusement for the author.  They were a necessary part of the reality of his work, and James Herriot loved all aspects of his work.  He loved the people, the animals, and the countryside.  He saw so much to take delight in, and the reader is a happy sharer in his delight.

Unfortunately, delight is little valued these days—or at least little indulged in. Everywhere you look, people appear so unengaged—so bored.  This boredom is a result of being entertained to the point of apathy.  The world is commonly viewed as something painful and ugly, something to get away from.  As a result, many seek diversion and entertainment—something to turn them away from the world.  Technology has done much to provide this diversion.  In fact, most people are so diverted from the world through their screened gadgets that they rarely communicate with other humans except through these devices.  They are truly removed from reality.  Their senses have been dulled and they haven’t the eyes to see what is around them any longer.

Others fall into a different error that bears a similar result.  There are many who cherish a contempt for the created world because they so fervently desire heaven.  They despise their earthly home because they view it as something that stands between them and their heavenly home.  They desire to be with God.  What they fail to see is that God reveals Himself to mankind slowly through all the marvelous things He has created.  All the little joys and trials bring men ever closer—like steps on a ladder—to the Creator.

The over-stimulated victim of technology and the world-rejecting God seeker both choose paths that distance them from God.  Both renounce creation.  If creation is rejected, the Creator will not be found.  The world is a treasure trove of marvels and mysteries that herald the glory of God.  Mankind’s earthly sojourn is not an accident or without purpose.  Like all journeys, it will ultimately lead the traveller home.  But it is only through the journey that he will arrive at his destination.  As he gets closer, he begins to see and recognize landmarks.  Things along the way become familiar, and by truly seeing them, he knows that he is close to home.  They become joyful symbols of the dearly sought destination.

For many, it is not easy to see beauty in the mundane and the ordinary.  The eyes of the world have become dimmed.  A guiding hand is needed to help the blind see things as they really are.  A great artist can provide seeing eyes for those who lack them.  He is able to represent things truly—the way God intended them to be.  He illuminates mysteries and marvels that are hidden in ordinary things—things that the average person may take for granted or fail to notice altogether.  James Herriot is one such artist.  Though his experiences were very humble and common, his poetic soul saw the markings of the divine in them.  They were a wellspring of wonder and delight.

If disenchanted people read James Herriot, they too may be able to find something extraordinary in the ordinariness of their lives.  The more they open their eyes to see, the more plain beauty becomes, ever beckoning, ever luring.  Once it is recognized, it will be seen in the smallest and seemingly inconsequential objects.  The blind will become like Herriot, who saw beauty everywhere in his home and his work—whether he was witnessing the fresh newness of life as he brought forth an infant lamb, or pulling a tin can off the nose of a mischievous puppy.  His sense of humor and sense of wonder made it possible for him to see and know and love the beauty around him.   Beauty abounds and overflows in the created world.  It exists in every place, for everyone.  It is wild and unrestrained.  The sheer existence of created things is a celebration of the existence of God—their reality partakes in the great reality that is God.  He is existence, and all that is—all creatures great and small—partakes in his Glory.  Let us, like James Herriot, find the glory of God in the simple surroundings of our own lives.  Let us join him in singing a song of praise unto the Lord.

Praise the Lord from the earth,
You great sea creatures and all ocean depths,
Lightning and hail, snow and clouds,
Stormy winds that do his bidding,
You mountains and all hills,
Fruit trees and all cedars,
Wild animals and all cattle,
Small creatures and flying birds,
Kings of the earth and all rulers on earth,
Young men and women,
Old men and children.
Let them praise the name of the Lord,
For his name alone is exalted;
His splendor is above the earth and the heavens…
Praise the Lord.