“Beauty is the harvest of presence.” David Whyte
I have been up early the last few mornings enjoying the cooler early day before the heat and humidity of St. Louis summer kicks in. You have to grab the cool while you can get it these days.
Bird-watching and listening from my screened porch (where I seem like the one in the cage and the birds are free to fly) are especially fruitful in the morning, for the birds know what I know about the cool of the day. About a week ago I put up a new feeder just outside my backdoor for the American Goldfinches (Spinus tristis) that I occasionally see in the neighborhood. I hung it where it can be easily viewed from where I sit to read and pray and write, a place where I wait for God to show up just as I now awaited the arrival of my first visitors. Sure enough, yesterday morning I caught sight of my first pair of goldfinches.
The female arrived first, checking out the plastic perch, a little skittish about this new food source, but she pecked away at the feed hole for a while and then flew off. Seconds later the male arrived in a startling explosion of bright yellow, a flurry of wings and exhibition of color that never cease to amaze and draw my attention to the wonders of this Creator of ours. I know enough of evolutionary biology to know there is obviously and scientifically a very good reason that this breed has developed such coloring over millions of years (perhaps for breeding or camouflage), but nevertheless I am thankful to the God who set this all in motion, who knew that the humans of the world needed a little color in their lives, who knew that I needed it in a very personal way while I sit on my porch waiting for both goldfinches and God to arrive.
Beauty, as the English poet David Whyte writes above, is the “harvest of presence,” it is the reward for sitting still and waiting for something to show up, of being so present in a moment that a finch is not just a finch but a reminder that God is at work in the world.
Ask yourself in silence: What startled me today and drew my attention to God?
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/American_Goldfinch/overview
Oh Steve, I truly love what you said about sitting to read and pray and write, waiting for God to show up. I am learning to do that too and I am finding it to be a beautiful experience. And I am a bird lover with many feeders from seed to suet to water to jelly and I truly love to watch them. And He is an unbelievable creator who loves us so much. If only more people could believe that and act on it every day.
Steve. Every time I sit in the yard, walk with my dog in a park or stand in the middle of a trout stream, ai am amazed at all the blessings God has given me. I wish I was as articulate as you are to be able to express those observations and feelings. I keep trying but am never completely satisfied so I just delete them. Thank you for saying the things I want to say so well. You are an inspiration to me and many.
Thanks Steve. Yes, God is everywhere even in the unexpected moments. St Francis of Assisi recognized God in his fellow creatures and so can we. God bless
Dear Steve,
Your beautiful reflections about God’s good creation give God glory and make my soul sing.
Thank you!
Thanks…what blessing is a heart that sings!
Thanks, Peter. I hope summer is treating you and your garden well.
Thanks, Jim. I’m glad my writing continues to meet you where you are…
Thanks, Barbara. I am beginning to think birds are God’s direct messengers….
Todays reading of Living Faith allows me to received the perfect gift of meeting Steve Givens.I love finches,I love buterflies,I love nature!Its the Best way to see Gods presence around me!Thank you for sharing your Beautiful reflections!God bless you!
Thanks, Silda, for writing. God comes through to us in so many ways….
So glad I found you via “living faith”….
Thanks, Colette. Glad you looked me up. We’re all a little saintly…I’m no St. Stephen myself….