Celebrating SimplicitySample

Joy in Nature

It was the end of Sunday dinner, and since we don’t have a dishwasher, I was doing a lot of dishes by hand after the company had left. It was also a beautiful spring day. I stepped outside with a load of trash when all of a sudden I heard a high-pitched whistling noise, and something zoomed past my head. The hummingbirds were back after their long migration from Central America, a miracle that I never tire of witnessing!

The kitchen mess was forgotten as I rushed to find the hummingbird feeder. I filled it and hung it in the usual spot in the tree. I waited expectantly for one to come and drink and was again transfixed by the tiny bundle of beauty and remarkable endurance. I finished those dishes in a state of rejoicing. And I agreed with God: creation is good.

Treasure the things of creation. They bear witness to God’s transcendent goodness and help us remember that celebration is an intentional way of seeing and thinking.

From Spiritual Disciplines Devotional by Valerie E. Hess.