Nourishing words

 

Watering the sweet peas, I swung the watering can round to fill the bird bath, then carried on round the garden. We have had some rain, but perhaps the puddles are dried up now and the birds may need a drink, I thought vaguely.

As I moved on round to other seedlings, Don called out from his vantage point on a garden chair, where he was taking a well-earned rest.

‘Look at the bird in the bird bath!’

There was a small song bird – maybe a chaffinch – energetically bathing in the water. Not a demure drink, but a full-on immersion, wings flapping, tail raising and lowering, head bobbing in the water. A picture of joy, of refreshment, of cleansing and cooling off.

I hadn’t had any particular ideas about which birds might benefit from a bath; which birds might even have been longing for a bath; which birds might not have realised they wanted a bath until the prospect of clean water was lying before them.

The words of God may be a bit like that bird-bath, cleansing, bringing refreshment, restoring hope, shining light, conveying peace.

God is love. Jesus died for the sins of the whole world. The Spirit is poured out into the lives of all who ask, so that they may be empowered to live out and to share the truth in this post-truth era. When the daily diet of dire news can draw us to despair, God offers food that nourishes and renews us.

I pray that the words I write today might comfort, encourage, console and strengthen someone today.