Listen

Lord, you have done so many things! You made them all so wisely! The earth is full of your creations!

Praise the Lord!

Psalm 104:24, 35c

Think

A few years ago, I signed up for a naturalist course at my local Audubon center and put a couple of bird feeders in my yard. Sure, I could’ve named some of my feathered neighbors before then, like the cardinals, chickadees, and doves. But all of a sudden, I knew more, like the electric blue of an indigo bunting and the more understated but no less beautiful markings of a northern flicker. I felt like the psalmist. Look at all these creations, right out my own door! The earth is so full! (And they’ve been here this whole time?!)

In her poem “Sometimes,” Mary Oliver says, “Instructions for living a life: Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it.” We don’t have to wait to be thankful until everything is just right or some huge, life-changing event happens. We can lean into gratitude for even the tiniest glimpses of God’s creative work that are right in our own backyards.

Allison Wehrung

Question to Ponder:

What is a specific thing in the natural world that you’re particularly thankful for?

Pray

Abundant God, open my eyes to the signs of your presence all around me, and enliven my heart to give you thanks. Lead me in the way of wonder.

Amen.

Go

God be the love to search and keep me

God be the prayer to move my voice

God be the strength to now uphold me

O Christ, surround me

O Christ, surround me

Richard Bruxvoort Colligan, “O Christ, Surround Me”