Sometimes a Reminder…

When we got to Austin on Monday, our first stop was to find some flowers for my mom’s grave. Winter is finally over and hopefully they will last for a little while at least. She always loved having flowers in hanging baskets, pots, and in the flower beds when she and dad lived in the house that I grew up in.

As we stood there, I remembered past visits and listening to the sounds of the birds in the trees. This spot is always so peaceful and there is almost always some sort of activity between the bunnies, squirrels, birds, and even deer come to visit. We are taking dad to his cardiology appointment this morning before heading back home.

As I reflect on this visit and our journey with dad through the valley of the shadows, I happened upon today’s reading from A Year with Thomas Merton: Daily Meditations from His Journals

The first chirps of the waking birds: le point vierge—the virgin point—of the dawn, a moment of awe and inexpressible innocence, when the Father in silence opens their eyes and they speak to Him, wondering if it is time to “be”? And He tells them, “Yes.” Then they one by one wake and begin to sing. First the catbirds and cardinals and some others I do not recognize. Later, song sparrows, wrens, etc. Last of all doves, crows… O paradise of simplicity, self-awareness—and self-forgetfulness—liberty, peace. (June 5, 1960)

O paradise of simplicity, self-awareness, and self-forgetfulness… isn’t that the call of Christ that I seek to follow? Food for thought on this day and this season filled with unknowns.