By Revd Preb Nigel Guthrie
Wait patiently for the Lord – Psalm 27 verse 4
One of the unexpected delights of moving to Devon 22 years ago was the discovery of the wonderful bird life here. I was introduced to bird watching by a teacher at school who gave up his own time to take a group of us to experience the birds on the Coln Estuary, near Colchester. I loved learning about the waders on the mud flats there, and joined the snappily named ‘Young Ornithologists Club’. That was in the early 1970s and I’m still an RSPB member today!
But during the busy years of full-on parish and family life my interest was rather set aside, only to be rekindled by discovering the riches of bird life in the South West of England. So, now I love to visit the Bowling Green Marsh hide at Topsham or the amazing Ham Wall nature reserve in Somerset where Marsh Harriers, Bitterns and Great Egrets are regularly to be spotted.
And I have followed with interest the development of the Lower Otter Restoration Project which is now complete and is beginning the long process of maturing. The mouth of the river has been allowed to flood over land previously used as a cricket ground and farmland to create a semi-saline environment which will not only help to future proof the area in the face of our changing climate, but also provide a home for a wide variety of breeding and wintering birds.
Tina and I like to walk in that area, and we headed out there one day in late December with visiting family members to walk off some Christmas excess. But, when we arrived at the bridge leading onto the footpath around the area, it was a disappointing scene; bleak, muddy and apparently devoid of birds, except for some gulls in the middle distance. But I should have been patient. As we walked round and looked through the gaps in the hedge we started seeing more birds. Much to my delight, in the reeds near the path, was a water rail, a bird which I don’t remember ever seeing before. It’s a very attractive, moorhen sized bird, with a sticking-up tail like a wren, smart two-tone plumage, and a red bill. I was delighted, and we then saw some other typical species: curlew, redshank and oystercatchers.
Bird watching requires patience, attention and a desire to notice what is there. In other words, it has close similarities with prayer. Sometimes the prospect of finding time to pray is not all that attractive. We can feel too busy or distracted to focus on God. But, like the birds, God is always there waiting for us. When we start attending to God’s presence, we may well feel the desire to offer thanks for what is good in our lives, or to hold up people and situations before the mercy seat. The daily offices of the church, Morning and Evening Prayer, can help us to focus. But we might well have our own ‘helps’ which encourage us to put our phones down (if we are not using them for prayer) and to find time for God. And the world of nature itself can often serve to remind us of the one who has created everything we see and experience, if we make time to wait patiently and expectantly.