Spring is the season of new beginnings; a time when all the harshness and bitter cold of winter is forgiven. This is a season that teaches the relevance of letting go of the past and embracing the gift of new life.
The cold north wind slowly turns southward bringing with it seeds of growth and melodies of promises fulfilled. These are the promises of newness but only for those who are brave enough to reach out with wide open hands, daring to let go of what has been ready to grasp the new thing about to happen.
It is the same in life; either we decide to let go of those things that hold us to the prickly past or we end up with a bitter winter chill deep in our souls. It isn’t easy to let go, to forgive those moments of pain and move on. As Mahatma Gandhi said, “The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is an attribute of the strong.”
It takes strength to forgive and let go, but we do it for our own freedom. This freedom leads to warm breezes, unexpected sunshine and moments of pure divine joy! Spring doesn’t wait for winter to apologize, instead, with spunk and a bit of grit spring brings forth new life daily.
Perhaps this is why spring is so adored. It has the audacity to embrace life despite all the darkness of the world, not allowing the shadows to dim its light
Some scientists have concluded that it is male birds who sing in the morning as a way of marking their territory and to announce their mating call. Other scientists argue that both female and male birds fill the sunrise with song because they are simply announcing the good news that they have woke to another day; they are sharing this news with their mates. And, there are those who claim that in the midst of the hot and humid summer months, when morning birdsong is at its loudest, it is because of the coolness of the morning and birds take advantage of these cooler temperatures to make their presence known.
The poets have claimed that birdsong is nature’s poetry that is ruined once we try to capture and dissect it. As Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote, “You must hear the birdsong without attempting to render it into nouns and verbs.”
The birds may never give up their secret for why they fill dawn with song and poetry but that is okay. As I grow older I am becoming increasingly comfortable with the not knowing. I do not need to know why they sing, I am just grateful they do.
Since day light savings time has begun, when we turned our clocks ahead one hour, Abby (my canine sidekick) and I routinely go out to the back deck just before dawn. Some days, with a jacket pulled over my bathrobe, we take in the slowly growing chorus. It begins each morning with the same bird and soon following his deep melody others join in. At this time of year the choir isn’t big but we know it will grow steadily over the next few weeks.
I am grateful for their trusted call each morning. Whether it be rain, snow or fog they raise their tiny voices in song and inspire me to do the same. Despite waking to horrible news from Ukraine, or a discouraging snow fall through the night their song calls me to rise up and celebrate yet another day.
As Maya Angelou wrote, “A bird doesn’t sing because it has an answer. It sings because it has a song.” May this song inspire us towards brighter and warmer days that lie ahead.
Boredom had set in. Between the provincial COVID-19 lock-down, working from home (again) and days of frigid temperatures I had become tremendously bored. By week’s end I had tried three new recipes, planned every worship service through to the end of Lent and despite it only being January I had reached mid-June in my Read –The-Bible-In-a-Year Chart! But nothing was working; the world just seemed differing shades of grey.
Then, the most unexpected thing happened. Their arrival was marked by the strangest noise on the other side of my front door. I opened it slowly to find at least 70 to 80 of them all over my front lawn and filling the bare maple trees. This hungry crew had only one thing on their minds; filling their bellies with the berries of the Euonymus Bush that grows up the side of my house, from the garden to the roof, taking in all two and a half floors. I stood in amazement listening as their chatter filled the air, a most charming melody.
I slowly closed the front door then quickly ran to the living room bay window. The white polka-dotted plumage of these European Starlings added a certain jovial touch to the already fascinating scene. If it were not for the thin piece of glass that separated us I could have touched their fluttering wings and cupped their tiny feet in my hands; I stood among them as though I too was filling up on this feast.
There were about 30 Starlings fluttering mid-air waiting to dine, and as their turn arrived they would dive into the bush while others filled the hydro lines overhead. I wasn’t the only one taking in this remarkable event; two cars had stopped and with windows rolled down they too were mesmerized by this flock of hungry birds.
Then, just as quickly as they arrived they were gone. As if on cue they formed a large ink blot in the sky and flew out towards the bay. As I watched them depart I noticed my spirits had lifted, I was no longer weighed down by boredom but filled with awe.
It is as though I had slipped into a mid-winter slumber and it took the unexpected arrival of a flock of birds to undo the spell. Since their visit I have made a major discovery. Boredom isn’t a situation we find ourselves in but a state of mind, an attitude we choose. Nothing in my life changed, I was still working from home, the temperatures remained arctic cold and yet, my attitude is entirely different. I am wide awake now, noticing the smell of bread baking, the ribbons of colour with each sunrise and sunset, admiring the shadows the full moon casts over my backyard, tasting the comfort of bread pudding and appreciating the warmth and glow of the fire each evening.
I am deeply grateful for a God who refuses to leave us alone but instead holds before us daily reminders of fresh starts and a glorious kingdom. As it is written, “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” (Isaiah 41:10)
May you also find finger prints of God’s presence in your daily life and may they be reminders of the glorious presence that never leaves you nor forsakes you,
Here we are at the beginning of a new year with 365 blank days ready to be filled. Each day is like a page in a book and the story of that book is written by how you decide to spend your moments. How are you going to fill the pages of your life?
It isn’t difficult these days to find plenty to complain about. Those with little imagination can always lament but those with vision and wisdom write the story of their life with gratitude and gentleness.
They are the ones who see the touch of divinity in seemingly ordinary occurrences. They gather these occurrences like one may gather shells on the beach or stones along a hike. They are gathered and placed into one place to be reviewed and admired for the beauty they hold.
One way to do this is simply by hanging a calendar on your refrigerator and making note daily of all the beauty you witness. Record the day you bumped into an old friend at the grocery store and spent 45 minutes in the cereal aisle talking or the day your new arm chair arrived after months of waiting. Make note on that calendar of the brilliance of the full moon or the day you saw your first Robin in the spring. Ink in the day the daffodils bloomed, the roses filled the air with fragrance and the day you noticed the first red autumn leaf.
Then, as the year draws to an end create a ceremony of reviewing your year. Make a cup of tea or pour a glass of wine and in a quiet space slowly flip through the months making note of the days, pausing to remember the moments and savoring the memories. Welcome to the story of your life!
As John Lennon sings in his song Beautiful Boy, “Life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans.” Don’t miss out on the beautiful story of your life by only using the calendar to write down Doctor’s Appointments, bill payments and when the car needs an oil change. Don’t miss out on the divinity in your life by only remembering who slighted you, what upset you and who made you angry. Instead, take a daily inventory of all the beauty your life holds.
The wind whistles it, the leaves whisper it as they dance about, the creek babbles it, the red squirrels chattered it along with the chipmunks, the Canadian Geese honk it as they fly overhead and the birds sing it as they gather at the feeders.
It is the mantra of autumn, “The time of change has arrived.”
This time of change grants us permission to modify our life in ways that bring about more contentment and discover deeper peace of mind. We can reshape our days to create space for those things that make us happy; more time for longer walks, to read a good book or to finish some of the half-finished quilting or woodworking projects.
Autumn is a transformational time that asks, “Where is there room for change in my life and do I have the courage to make these changes?”
One change I have made is the baking of bread. I missed the routine and award of making bread so for the past few weeks I have been thrilled to fill the house with the aroma of bread baking. I also have reclaimed the old fashion task of hand written notes. We are a people of texting and emails so I have committed to two hand written notes each week.
What changes have you wanted to make? As Charles Darwin wrote, “It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.”
Now is the time to answer the call of autumn and have the courage to make some of those long desired changes.
There is a new addition to my backyard garden, a sculpture of sorts. It isn’t pretty, kind awkward if truth be told but it has a most important purpose.
It all started mid-summer when I was startled early one morning to discover a neighbor sitting rather comfortably in my backyard. To be exact she was sitting proudly by the bird feeders looking rather pleased with herself. Without hesitation I opened the back gate and made it clear she wasn’t welcome, “Be gone!” I yelled while waving my arms.
She just looked me up and down then returned to studying the bird feeders.
Again, I said, louder than the first time, “I said be gone!” and to make my point clearer I stepped closer and clapped my hands. Again, she simply ignored me. So, I picked up the hose and with one squirt made my presence hard to ignore.
She ran just far enough to be beyond the spray of water, she wasn’t going to leave easily. I then found myself chasing her down the side of the house spraying the hose wildly. Anyone looking on must have wondered what I had for breakfast that morning. In hindsight, I am now certain I heard some snickering as I rounded the house and found this neighbor back under the bird feeders. I knew this meant war!
Thing is, only a week earlier I had caught my next-door neighbor doing the exact same thing and giggled at how silly she looked. Now, I knew the nature of her yelling, running and waving of her arms.
Within a couple of days this unwelcomed neighbor returned several times. One deterrent I discovered was putting on the sprinkler; this pleased the birds and kept this unwelcomed neighbor at a distance, but my water bill was climbing.
One afternoon while weeding the flower bed under our front window this neighbor happened along, I stood up offering no words of welcome. As she walked past another neighbor crossed my lawn saying, “Her name is Buttons and she has been the terror of the neighborhood all summer.”
Terror doesn’t even come close to describe Buttons! A couple of days earlier, upon hearing yells, I looked out my front window and witnessed a woman with a rather large dog on a leash; both were being chased by Buttons down the street.
Jesus said we are to love our neighbors as ourselves but Buttons wasn’t making it easy!
So, a couple of days ago when I discovered Buttons back under my bird feeders, I knew something different was required. Now don’t get me wrong, I love cats, but Buttons is like no cat I had ever met.
Do you know that cats are the number one killers of songbirds? Well, not on my watch! This time I grabbed the hose and didn’t try to scare Buttons, but instead planned on giving her a thorough soaking.
As she darted away, I kept close pursuit and soaked her backside good. Then I devised a plan. Remembering an unused metal shepherd’s hook plant hanger in the shed, I knew what to do.
I put this shepherd’s hook in the ground positioned strategically between all the bird feeders, which happens to be about the middle of the yard and hung the hose sprayer on it. Even with the hose off, just the sight of that sprayer is enough to keep Buttons away. I watched as she rounded the garage, spied the sprayer, sized up the situation and decided to turn tail.
It would seem Buttons and I have come to an understanding.
So, standing up in my back yard is a large metal shepherd’s hook with the garden hose and sprayer poised for battle. It looks rather ridiculous but as Lord Polonius said in Hamlet, “There is method in my madness!”
Later, as my husband came through the back door from work, he just looked at me, shook his head and said, “I am not even going to ask.”
Labour Day weekend is a hinge weekend; it starts in a summer frame of mind with thoughts of evening camp fires, afternoons spent at the beach and BBQ suppers. By the time Sunday evening arrives our thoughts have turned towards autumn. Over this long weekend we move from the space of bright and sunny summer days into the space of cozy yet busy days of autumn, hence why it is called a hinge weekend.
Change is in the air. As the days shorten and the evenings grow longer the Canadian Geese practice their flight formations overhead, fields of soybeans are turning into their rich autumn colours and migrating birds are gathering on the hydro wires. Teachers, school bus drivers and parents alike are strategizing the best ways possible to enter another COVID -19 school year. Meanwhile, others are plotting changes to their home décor gladly planning for cooler evenings spent by the fireplace and the donning of favorite autumn sweaters. For many it is time to turn over the vegetable garden and spend time pickling or freezing its produce.
This change cannot be stopped so it may as well be enjoyed. As Socrates wisely wrote, “The secret of change is to focus all of your energy not on fighting the old, but on building the new.” This new season guarantees to be full of God’s glory, beauty and joy if we decide to seek out all the newness and goodness being offered.
May this new season be full of hidden joys waiting for your discovery,
At first I didn’t notice the cause, only the effect. As I carefully folded each sheet from the clothesline, birds dove around me, dancing overhead. One little nuthatch stopped mid-air, made a 180-degree turn, then darted back into the treetops. There were robins, at least 3 blue jays, a couple of orioles, a cardinal, about half a dozen chickadees and a handful of nuthatches displaying a choreographed routine.
After all the laundry was folded, I sat down in a lawn chair enthralled by the show. It was remarkable! More than once a Blue Jay dove so close I could have reached out and touched him. And the best part: when the orioles joined the dance! Their orange plumage added much to the display.
I silently tip toed inside to get my son who, upon arrival, immediately assessed what was happening. A nest of flying ants must have hatched in the soil under our patio stones and were marching in a straight line across the stones, through the lattice and up to the top of the fence post, which is positioned directly under the clothesline. By bringing in the laundry I had startled them into flight, triggering the neighborhood birds into a feeding frenzy.
We sat back and watched with fascination as the seemingly thousands of flying ants marched up the post and took flight, only to be nabbed inches away. However, we soon realized that some were making it high into the great blue yonder because several sea gulls began to dip, dive and turn above the tree tops.
Later we reflected on the plight of the flying ants, having barely hatched and already were someone’s evening snack. However, I must admit, the blackened top of my fence post thick with flying ants disgusted me. I fought the urge to get the hose and wash them away! Thankfully nature once again amazed me with its balancing act.
My boring evening of house work and laundry turned into something exciting; life is such an adventure! One moment I was mindlessly folding laundry, and the next looking up in awe at God’s creation. As the Psalmists declare, “How many are your works, LORD! In wisdom you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures.” (Psalm 104:24)
Her arrival was a bit unexpected. We found her in a sad situation, the runt of a rather poorly kept litter of pups in a wooden box kept in a dark and cold barn. We had gone just to take a look, but left with this wee bundle of fur in our arms. Her little ears stood straight up on a tiny head under which were two serious eyes that studied our every move. Once placed on the floor this bundle of fur would never wander far, always staying close encouraging pats of assurance. I should have been exhausted from the several “bathroom” breaks each night and the early morning play sessions, instead by day 3 I knew exactly what to name her, Abigail.
Abigail means “cause of joy” in Hebrew. In the Bible, Abigail, King David’s second wife, is described as a beautiful and intelligent woman. My canine sidekick has lived fully into her name.
Each morning as we sip our coffees and read over the difficult headlines our “Cause of Joy” lies between us having her ears massaged or her belly rubbed, as if reminding us not to despair. Each evening she brings her balls and toys dropping them at our feet as we watch the 6:00 news not allowing us time to wallow in the sadness of the world. By bedtime this “Cause of Joy” has had us out for an evening walk among the tall trees and along the babbling brook. She is our angel and I cannot imagine life without her.
Life isn’t easy these days. It never has been. There will always be difficult people, painful prognosis, frightening headlines and causes of grief. We must counter this with causes of joy.
I know one woman whose cause of joy is her house plants. Two hours each Saturday morning is dedicated to their care. Her love of plants has resulted in a degree in botany of which is the field she now works. She is blessed to have discovered a source of joy which fills her days.
Another woman tells me her joy comes from reading. She takes great delight in finding a new novel and before starting it she arranges herself in her favorite chair, with a cup of tea and a plate of cookies. Then the ceremony of meeting new characters and going on an adventure begins.
I have met several grandparents that have discovered great joy when time is spent with their grandchildren. Some even commit to babysit regularly so to fill up on that joy!
What is your cause of joy? What brings a spring to your step and a song to your heart? Fill up on this joy as often as possible; it is the antidote to all the sadness of life!
Stain Glass Lens of the 21st Century 