Life in the past month has become something many of us would never believe possible in this day and age. Stay home all day, every day? Don’t see family and friends? What are we to do? We can try really listening and seeing. I don’t mean listening to and watching the news. I don’t even mean listening to each other all the time, because we know that can get tricky and we all need some down time; yes, even in the middle of all this down time we need to be still. Of course, if it is a great dance song, all bets are off, I’m turning up the music and moving my feet!
Have you tried going outside, to stop what you are doing and just listen or see? We are blessed with a beautiful, new back yard. Each day I walk through it or sit on our deck, there is something to see or hear. I see the blush of the rose starting to bloom; the lavender petals of the iris fluttering in the breeze; the bright green anole hanging out among the clematis flowers; the leaves of the trees as they open; and the hummingbird hovering in front of me before darting off! There is so much color and life to see if you stop and look, really look, at God’s creation.
Go listen. We can hear the breeze brushing through the trees; the owl hooting in the distance; the Carolina wren singing its sweet song; the woodpeckers hammering away on a fallen tree and calling to their mates; the cardinal greeting the evening; and the squirrel hopping and scratching in the pine straw in search of stray seeds (okay, we may not like those but you can hear them!). There are so many beautiful sounds if you take the time to truly listen. And each new sound leads to another lovely sight.
These times often make me think of the poem All Things Bright and Beautiful by Cecil Frances Alexander. This poem led to a book series, All Creatures Great and Small, which I’m grateful my grandmother introduced to me as a young girl (great time to read with your children!). I hear some of the words as I listen to and see my little piece of heaven around me. The first two verses speak to what I am saying:
All things bright and beautiful,
All creatures great and small,
All things wise and wonderful,
The Lord God made them all.
Each little flower that opens,
Each little bird that sings,
He made their glowing colours,
He made their tiny wings.
Finding time to appreciate what God has made brings peace and stillness. I wish for you time to be still, to listen, to see and find peace.
Song of Solomon 2:12 ESV –The flowers appear on the earth, the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land.
Isaiah 35:1-2a NRSV – The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad, the desert shall rejoice and blossom; like the crocus it shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice with joy and singing.
Psalm 104:12 ESV – Beside them the birds of the heavens dwell; they sing among the branches.
Chris Polli
