It's a Jungle! Let the Little Bird Guide You

by Kathleen Blease

As you can see from my lack of posts this past week, I have been finding it very difficult to write. My writing is usually connected to my ability to pray and contemplate. When these two dry up, so do my words. Aridity.

Today, I visited A Solitary Bird, who posted a few paragraphs on aridity and praying with a book. I love the imagery of the bird drinking.

When we face these dry times, we should turn to spiritual books--such as the gospels or books written by saints--to help us settle and/or direct our minds. This is where the little bird comes in. Have you ever watched a bird drink water? It will dip its beak into the water and take a few sips. Then, it turns its face to the sky to let the water go down. Little by little, dip by dip, the bird replenishes itself.

Just as the little bird takes these drops then turns its face skyward, so we, too, should take a few words from God or a Heavenly saint. Then, put the book down for a moment and turn our faces to Heaven to contemplate these tiny bits of nourishment for our souls.

Don't be in a rush. Don't force yourself  to be productive again in this way. This certainly isn't the first time I faced such a dry spell of creativity and aridity in spirituality, and it won't be the last! Perhaps these times are designed for us by God to slow us down, to find a new path. Hey, sometimes it looks like a jungle out there, and finding the straight and narrow path takes time to cut through the overgrowth and cast away the unnecessary.  It can be a tedious chore that appears to get us nowhere. But suddenly, with the help of Our Savior, we find our new path. If we drink from His fountain, bit by bit, and turn our eyes to Heaven, even our aridity becomes a bountiful time. How's that for a paradox?

God bless.