There's Magic In All Of This

The birds were singing in my back yard this morning in the moments just before dawn.  I poked my head out my back door clutching my just-brewed cup of coffee, and I listened.

A friend of mine told me that there is a difference between birdsong and birdcall.  A call is a warning, a signal of alarm, a communication of location, among other things.  Birdsong, on the other hand, has to do with attraction, stimulation and the proclamation of vigor.

It's kind of romantic, in other words--as romantic as birds get.

I was thinking about that this morning as I listened to the birds singing.  I imagined that the biological imperative they all felt to sing had less to do with the propagation of their species and more to do with the Divine spark within them.

Basically, I imagined that they were singing for joy because the morning was about to break.  The sun that was just beginning to dispel the gloom of night was a sign of resurrection, new life, and a new beginning.

I had just listened to a wonderful song by Ryan O'Neal, and the lyrics came back to me then: 

There's magic in our bones,
A north star in our soul
That remembers our way home.
God, it's easy to forget
There's magic in all of this.
It's so easy to forget,
It's so easy to forget
That there's magic in all of this.

How beautiful is that?  It is so easy to forget just how incredible all of this truly is, but as we travel together through this season of Lent, I want to remind you today to pay closer attention.  Don't be so quick to fall back on your dualistic thinking.  Dream a little. 

I read this great quote from Richard Rohr this week that resonated with me, and I believe speaks right into what I'm trying to say:

When I know that the world around me is both the hiding place and the revelation of God, I can no longer make a significant distinction between the natural and the supernatural, between the holy and the profane. 

May you see God all around you today and every day.  May you be surprised by what you discover, and may it fill you with new hope and overwhelming joy. 

And may the grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you now and always. Amen.