journey onWord with us

I awoke this past Saturday in the natural course of sleeping.  It was the first time in recent memory that an alarm did not beckon the beginning of my day.  It was a picture-perfect morning; bright sunshine, low 70’s temperature and a hint of a cool breeze.  Noting the ideal conditions, I grabbed my fresh cup of hazelnut coffee, my morning sacred time materials, a book I’ve been reading, my sketch book and pencil box and headed for our quaint outdoor niche.

The time was as glorious as the morning.  My sacred time was rich and meaningful.  I wrote a note to a dear friend; I sketched for the first time (in I can’t remember how long); and I received an incredibly encouraging email from a friend.   At no time did I lose sense of the noises of nature which surrounded me, but at times it was if they were superseded by the beautiful silence of study and thought.

As I finished the natural course of my sacred time and gathered my things to return to the house, two small birds caught my eye.  They were in the outer reaches of my periphery, perched high on top of the neighbor’s fence.  I turned my head and fixed my gaze on them.  They seemed to be looking directly at me.  They chirped first to me, then to each other, and began the most interesting synchronized hopping I have ever witnessed.  They hopped along the fence for several feet and then onto and across a telephone wire.  With each hop they alternated directions.  For the bird nearest me, their first hop (and mid-air twist) resulted in them facing the opposite direction.  The bird’s friend simply hopped and kept its gaze locked on me.  In their next hop, they both completed a mid-air twist and traded opposing positions.  During the full length of their frenetic “dance,” neither bird faced each other,  nor ever faced the same direction. They hopped and alternated in perfect rhythm.  One always facing me, one always facing away.  The dance was over in less than a minute, and it was the oddest and most beautiful thing all at the same time.

As the tiny birds flew off, I sat and reflected on my truly sacred morning.  I personalized the words of Psalm 8:4.  “Who am I that you would be mindful of me?!  Who am I that you would care so uniquely and deeply for me?!”  I so do not deserve the gifts of that morning.  With all that God has created and cares for, how does He work so specifically and so lavishly in my everyday?  How many times do I not take notice of the synchronous dance of the “birds” he brings into my life?  I am convinced there is “tiny bird” beauty in every day.  There are people (and the things which make them uniquely them) which God brings into my life to bless and grow me -– to show Himself to me.  Father, may I reject the things our great enemy uses to obscure and mute the beauty you have for me in every single day.  May I turn and gaze at every tiny bird you bring into my life.  May I stay present in the moments you have authored for us to spend together.  May I notice their synchronous hopping and see You in it.

There is beauty in even the darkest days.  Draw near to God.  Spend time daily reading His Word and talking with him.  Steal away to a quiet and solitary space at times to commune more deeply with Him.  Allow all of it to soften your heart, tune your ears and focus your eyes to observe the beauty He gifts in every single day … and experience Him in it.