Hearing the first cuckoo in spring is a special moment that has captured the imagination of writers, poets and musicians over the centuries. But for how much longer? Is it ‘last call’ for these spring visitors?
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Morning has broken
Waking early the other day, I suddenly decided get up and listen to the dawn chorus. Opening the patio door wide I sat there ready to enjoy. I was in for a magical moment:
All is quiet in the surrounding houses with only the odd noise of traffic. To be alone like this in the stillness is a delightful experience. I can begin to feel I’m hearing Eden’s echoes amidst the stillness and untarnished beauty of that first morning.
The superabundance of nature in the spring-time takes our breath away as we see new beauty unfolding on all sides. Every field, wood, hedgerow and garden erupting into fresh green. In G.M.Hopkins’ words it is ‘all in a rush with richness‘. We are bewildered by the profusion.
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Imagine how miserable those first disciples of Jesus must have felt after the terrible events of Good Friday. The words of those two on the road to Emmaus say what they all must have thought ‘we had hoped that he would be the one who was going to redeem Israel……..’ (Luke’s Gospel chapter 24 verse 21) But then, on the third day, the most wonderful thing happened and all was changed.
A Listening Heart 