Seeker

My last post 'Hearing the Call to Freedom' was a story of how a young bird recognized a familiar call. It got me thinking again about hearing God's call, that can so easily be suppressed by the many voices competing for our attention. In a post I wrote some years ago, I wondered whether today's  always-connected digital age prevents or helps people to hear from God? During the lockddown due to the current coronavirus pandemic, I sometimes feel more distracted than ever before by the images, sounds and words coming to me through my PC or smartphone.  Do all those messages, tweets, shared  music, news feeds and visual media add to a constant noise that stops me hearing God’s word? Do all those online services, zoom meetings, however good or well intentioned, amplify or mute that still small voice of God. A whisper of a word that I would hear if only I would stop for silence? I've found myself remembering the story about Elijah in I Kings 19 and how he e...

We were having a morning coffee in our living room when a Great Tit flew in through the open window. It was a young bird, rather unskilled in aerial navigation. In its panic to escape the terrifying humans, it eventually found a safe perch on a curtain rail. We didn’t want to alarm it further, so making sure all the windows were wide open, we moved out to the garden. We hoped it would find its way out. Some time later I crept back in. The bird seemed to have gone. It hadn’t. It had moved to another curtain pole. My entry caused frantic flying. It flew hard against the unopenable part of a window and fell to the floor stunned. Was it dead? Eventually the young Great Tit rose to its feet, but stayed there, occasionally lifting a wing. Was it injured? Could it still fly? Yes, it could. When I moved the sofa to give it more space, it flew up to the windowsill, where it remained motionless. I went outside to continue to watch it. Was it scared to move? Was it waiting, as young b...