One of the many joys, while living here in the vicarage, has been watching the local birds present in the yard, their numbers, and the wide variety. I have observed a number of species which are new to me even though they are similar in size and often have feather colouring similar to that of the common sparrow. Beaks and song do help noting the differences. I have also seen two unexpected variations in the feather colouring of two blackbirds. One has a number of white feathers on and near to its head. The other has one large wing feather that is white.

Hearing the beauty and variety of bird song has been awesome. The variety of bird life and each bird kind’s unique, individualised song often reflects the benefits of the vegetation in our local setting. Ranging from: freshly mown lawn, small domestic flowering plants, trimmed bushes and magnificent the height of the trees. Within this range here too we have a variety of kind. The plants provide a range of food sources, including worms and other ground dwelling bugs, small insects on the underside of leaves and nectar from flowering trees and bushes.

While pondering the stimuli for my joy, my thoughts returned to Genesis chapter one. On the third day of creation “God said, ‘Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth’”; and it was so. And the earth brought forth grass, the herb that yields seed according to its kind, and the tree that yields fruit, whose seed is in itself according to its kind. On the fifth day birds were created and on the sixth day, plants that yielded seed and things that creep upon the earth were created. We too were created on the sixth day. The difference between all aspects of creation that preceded us was the preparation of a world in which live and for which we were instructed to take charge and a protective oversight.

A hymn also came to mind, “For The Beauty Of The Earth.” This was written in the Spring by  Folliott Sandford Pierpoint. The occasion, according to Google was, sat on a hilltop outside his native city of Bath, England, admiring the country view and the winding Avon River. Inspired by the view to think about God’s gifts in creation and in the church, Pierpont wrote this text, of which I share the first verse and chorus. 

For the beauty of the earth,
for the glory of the skies,
for the love which from our birth
over and around us lies.
Christ, our Lord, to you we raise
this, our hymn of grateful praise.

I’m no poet so am grateful that others like Pierpoint and composers, in this case John Rutter, who can express my thoughts.

We have an awesome God who brought all things into being. We being one. We are however, different from all other aspects of creation, as God’s decision before Adam was formed was that we humans were to be created “in God’s own image.”  We also have a close relationship with all of God’s creation. We were formed from “the dust of the earth” and became a human being. God, “breathed into Adam’s nostrils the breath of life.”

Let us take time to appreciate the beauty of the earth, God’s creation that is around us giving thanks and praise to our creator.