Hello again, and happy July! As promised, I’m back after taking a bit of a break during the month of June. There was a lot of front porch sitting, a good amount of reading (14 books finished in the last 6 weeks!), and I do feel refreshed and more myself.
As I sat on my front porch, I kept thinking about the simple peacefulness in the quiet of an early country morning. It is these moments that outweigh all the inconveniences that accompany living at a distance from all else. Here it is still enough to catch the thrum of wings as the birds approach the feeder, the gentle ticking of titmice knocking sunflower seeds against branches to crack them open, the louder tap of red-bellied woodpeckers with their apparent favorites: peanuts in the shell. The scrabble of nuthatch feet on bark as they ascend the tree trunk and then turn to descend head first is clear and distinct. It’s very different from both an empty void and the typical rush of everyday life in more urban settings. In addition to all the auditory experiences, there are visual wonders as well – the streaks of rust on a tufted titmouse’s flanks; the haphazard, careening flight of a fledgling downy woodpecker not quite accustomed to flight; the bravado of a teenage titmouse as he dares to swoop within 5 feet of us – nearly within arm’s reach – to snag a snack, despite his parents’ loud warning; the surprise and joy of spotting a new species, a purple finch on this occasion, for the first time. All of it reminds me of Jim Crumley’s wise words: “Out on the Carse of Stirling*, you get a better view than most places, but only if you have taken the trouble to stop.”+ These sights and sounds do surround, but they’re also easy to miss.
It also has brought to mind a Scripture or two, Matthew 11:29-30 perhaps most frequently: “Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” If a physical place could fully capture the true meaning of rest this side of Heaven, my front porch of an early summer morning might just be that place. What a good and gracious God, to offer such a glimpse here on earth!
*the flood-plain of the River Forth in Scotland
+The Nature of Autumn, p223
Welcome back, you were greatly missed! Thank you for sharing so eloquently and vividly, at the same time, your reflections on your front porch. We all need to take the time and look and wonder at Gods workmanship. Another, of the many verses, would be Psalm 96:11-12.