Oh, The Possibilities
4/26/09 Spiritual Presentations
I’ve missed the eagles that used to sit in the tree on the other side of the bay opposite my window. Do they stay away from their nesting tree to draw attention away from it? Surely they don’t have eggs in the nest this early, or if they do one of the eagles would be sitting on the nest, as it’s below freezing these mornings. The nest is slightly below the tree line, under the dead top of the white pine where the eagles normally perch. I can’t see the nest itself from here, but I could see the eagle if one were in it.
Then off to the right I just noticed, like a picture perfectly framed by close-in Norway pines, a huge eagle perched on another dead-topped white pine I never noticed before. It’s almost as if all the limbs on one side of the top of one Norway have been cut away so I can see this new perching sight in the distance framed by beautiful Norway needles. I laugh to myself as I think: God must have made sure this tree uncharacteristically grew that way so that I can watch the eagles from here.
It sounds funny, but then, could that be true? Why not? God has that kind of purpose and that kind of patience. I like to reflect on nature serving God this way. I know many instances where, when I’ve felt especially close to God, animals have appeared – foxes, wolves, eagles, otters – as if to confirm God’s presence and compassion for me. This makes some people nervous – shades of divine fraternization and nature worship! But from here it looks like God loving me and showing it – it fits perfectly as the sort of thing God would do for me. The fact that He could do it draws out my awe for Him; the fact that He would do it draws out my loving respect.
