I’ve had to stop bringing in the washing from the line to come in and write this: I’ve had a moment of revelation.
As I was pairing up socks, which had been put out into the watery sunshine of a spring afternoon, I heard a blackbird call.
“I love that sound,” I said out loud, to the socks and pants before me, and I was suddenly whisked back in time to a moment in a garden in Cornwall, about twelve years ago.
It was my husband’s aunt’s garden; a complex and intricate terraced arrangement full of colour and beauty put together by a couple who clearly knew what they were doing outdoors. We sat, drinking tea and watching the birds come to feed, enjoying the fresh air and warm sun of a Cornish July. My aunt and uncle-in-law named each bird they heard, and I was greatly impressed. At some point I asked what immediately felt like a silly question.
“How do you recognise so many different bird calls?”
The answer came quickly and with a wry smirk. “Because we sit and we watch and we listen.”
Obvious really,” I’d laughed at the time, to cover my feelings of foolishness, but the point stayed with me – and it’s just hit me with fresh meaning.
In the garden, just now, I recognised the blackbird’s call. I was able to name it because I began to do just what Mark’s aunt advised: I watched and listened to birds, not just in our garden, but wherever I was, outdoors.
And the thought just struck me that this is exactly the same when we listen to God. So often, people say “How do I hear God? How do I know when it’s God speaking to me, and not my imagination?”
We watch, and we listen. We read God’s word so that we hear how he speaks through the bible – this is how we get to know the tone and manner of God’s voice – his call, as it were. And we watch for the ways he works, which are consistent with the things he says, because what he does reflects who he is; we look for renewal, life, joy, love, refreshment, redemption, light, wholeness: his kingdom come.
And as we become familiar with how he looks and sounds, we begin to recognise God when we hear him. It may be a thought that passes through your mind; it may be a word from a friend; a song on the radio; a film or TV programme that speaks into something in your life; a painting – or anything at all. It could be as simple as eating toast – if you make watching and listening for God a habit that is part of your normal routine, you’ll become quicker and quicker at recognising his whispers.
Like when I was just getting the washing in, and the blackbird called: that thought process was God speaking to me just now – and I hope, through me sharing this – he has spoken to you, too.
There’s no flash or bang, you’ll notice. Were I to accompany my thoughts with the opening bars of Beethoven’s 5th Symphony, they would sound a bit small and quiet. But if I take these whisperings of God’s heart and treasure them in my own, dwell on them in my mind and live so that I look and listen regularly – what a change I’ll experience! My relationship with God will deepen, my faith will grow, my decisions and choices will be made with a greater awareness of God’s love for me and his will for my life.