A song in two parts

Dear Monty,

Part 1

'Why do you ask my name it is beyond understanding ? '

This was the response of the angel of God to Manoah  - the soon to be father of Samson.

Today starts with a warm and beautiful morning, some plants have died and some have survived the wet and windy winter.
Great tit pierce the air with staccato calls.
Blackbird, redstart, thrush and bullfinch all join in.

The bullfinch has eaten all the blossom buds off the apple tree, but I forgive him in exchange for his beauty.

Why do I look for answers ? Why do I examine the motives of my heart ? I already know them.
Why do I need a name to explain this sudden sense of peace ? It is beyond understanding but now made certain.

Part 2

Much form and little reality

This sums up how I feel about my life as a Christian, it is so difficult to communicate the reality of spiritual things, in truth it is foolishness.

The garden reflects my soul.
How does it do that ? How can gardens mirror our innermost being ?

I look at  the searching curves of branches on the Norway maple, its budded and blossoming tips. I see the almost ogee arch formed by the apple touching the maple.
I see the light illuminating the young leaves.
This form shaped by my hand and pruning saw and by the green force of spring is an example of  'reality' and 'artiface' - nature in its will to grow and spread, and man who is also nature - shaping in order to suggest structure and lead the eye, in other words to tell a story, to make some kind of sense out of the seeming randomness of wilderness.

Nature though, the force that drives reproduction, the longer warmer days the shift of the earth in its orbit - has the final say. But our nature is also linked with the vastness of the universe.

Much form and little reality ?

Very often it is the case in my life, but just every now and then, the eternal which is beyond words or understanding (for me it is Christ) - shouts we belong to each other and to God - we need not struggle for the struggle has already ceased.

The third actor intervened.

With thanks to Eleanor Flaherty eleanorflaherty.co.uk for her drawing of a chrysanthemum, and to veddw.com and Anne Wareham for her recent blog post on shadows, also Tristan Gregory for his post on thinkingardens.co.uk entitled The Three Actors. And finally an article in today's guardian weekend magazine by atheist Barbara Ehrenreich entitled 'Was that you,God?' I would answer yes it was and not worry about the huge and varying opinions of religion.

Paul.