Birds Still Sing

Like everyone else, being at home for the last 35 days has proven a unique challenge.  Schooling my 3 children while also trying to work from home came with a steep learning curve.  I miss my 'normal' life.  I miss going to my office at the Cathedral, I miss seeing the youth group and all of your smiling faces on Sunday mornings.  Most of all, I miss the connections I shared with each of you.  Even if we haven't spoken, the connection of worshipping together is sorely missed.  I keep reminding myself that its not lost, simply on hold, until we meet again in person.

In this time of distance, I'm reminded of how Jesus lived. He often spent time around vast groups of people, teaching and healing and speaking and just 'being'.  But for as much time as he spent with people, he also spent time alone.  He often sought time alone in prayer.  In each Gospel, we see Jesus spending time in prayer; (Matthew 14, Mark 6, Luke 22).  He gave himself time to pray or to just be with God.

I'm going to be honest with you; It's hard for me to sit still.  I prefer to 'go, go, go', accomplishing anything and everything I can.  This shutdown, as it were, has proven challenging for me. But I am so incredibly grateful for this time.  I am learning to move at a slower pace. I am learning that taking time to do nothing is essential in my relationship with God.

 I have developed a fondness for listening to the birds sing on my back porch.  I can honestly say I can't remember if I've ever done that before.  Was I too busy to hear them before?  Did I tune them out?  I'm sure some of you are laughing at me now but I just heard it as noise before.  And now?  Now I'm grateful because it means some parts of life are still normal.  Even when I'm anxious or lonely or scared or sad or bored or lazy or (insert emotion here), some things remain the same.  The sun still shines, the rain still falls, the birds still sing and I can still pray.

The church doors may be temporarily closed friends, but God? God is still there.  We can still connect with God and with each other.  I hope you take this time of distance and closures to find ways to connect.  Take time to pray.  Take time to journal.  Write a letter to a friend. Make a phone call. Dig in the dirt.  Take up a new hobby. Or take time to listen to the birds.

Until we meet again,

Rachel