We have had horrific weather this last week, and thousands are still suffering the consequences. Many will continue the process of coming to terms with catastrophic loss for a long time to come. We are not in control. Nothing we did could have curbed the 90 miles an hour winds or kept the floods from rising. Well, seeing the devastation as the result of climate change adds another dimension.
At the Bield, the damage caused by the storms of the last week has been limited, and we are thankful. To see an uprooted fir tree or an old fallen oak hurts like a physical wound. They have stood their ground for so long and snap! it is finished. The metaphor of the body (1Corinthian 12) , how we all represent different parts of the body, are closely joined together, and need each other is an important one. When one part hurts, we all hurt. When one part rejoices, we all rejoice. We should include creation more when we think of being part of God’s body. Everything belongs.
Over the last week, we have had a bit of real winter with snow and frost. When white
covers everything, we can’t see what is hidden below the white eiderdown, but we know that life can’t be held down and soon colours and shoots, new growth will be revealed. So much that seems dead has the seed of resurrection life. So even the beautiful oak that came down may find new life by being crafted into furniture or floor boards.
We know St. Francis of Assisi as a great lover of God and he sees God through all his creatures and all of creation. His Canticle to the Sun pays tribute to God and displays his intimate relationship with nature around him. He talks to Brother Sun and Sister Moon, Brother Wind and Sister Water…..
I invite you to meditate on St Francis’ Canticle and consider how you respond to the natural world and its different components. Go for a wander and consider what helps you to stay rooted in God, when you know you are not in
Control. You may want to write your own canticle of praise to the God you meet through creation.
Marianne
I do not need
to seek God.
God is already here,
waiting to be found,
soaked in my reality
My journey is to be one
always,
already present,
of recognizing God
and surfacing
that presence in
my daily life.
(From : A Mystical Heart by Edwina Gateley)
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