Thinking about the future can usually go in one of two directions…excited anticipation or worrisome speculation.  A few weeks ago, I found my thoughts leaning toward the latter with what-if’s cluttering up my mental space.  As those thoughts began to settle in where they didn’t belong, I saw something out of the corner of my eye.  The flurry I saw turned out to be a few sparrows in flight.  At that moment, I was reminded of two things. First, I recalled the words of Jesus, “Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them…” Second, I remembered why I love watching birds. It’s cool when I manage to catch the Creator being creative.

The beauty of prayer is that it offers the opportunity for us to listen as God begins the dialogue.  And this can happen as we observe nature.  Yes, I see birds all of the time, but when I really pay attention, their appearance is a form of prayer.  The week after my sparrow sighting, I delighted in taking a picture of a robin posing upon a lamppost, looking calm and cared for.

A few years ago during a season that felt barren, I went to a retreat in the hopes of getting refreshed and took this picture of a group of trees on the grounds. Notice the evergreen trees behind the trees with the bare branches.  I was grateful for this reminder that in spite of the seasonal changes that we go through, God’s presence and power are stable.

Your Call: Can you recall a time when you caught the Creator being creative in nature?  What do you think God was communicating to you at that time?  Share in the comments section below.