I get enormous pleasure from our garden. It’s only a small suburban garden, but it’s become a haven for birds and wildlife, especially a quenda, or bandicoot. Spending time in the garden is an opportunity to detox from the pressures of life and enjoy the beauty of nature.
This video is a snippet of my own contemplation and I’d like to invite you to find at least five minutes to sit and watch and listen to this video, but to take some time afterwards to pause and reflect upon God’s goodness. If you don’t have a garden of your own, I’d like to invite you to enjoy ours, but most of all to stop doing all the things that press in on your day and simply pause.
The musical background is the old hymn, “His Eye is on the Sparrow” written by Civilla D. Martin in 1905. I haven’t confirmed this quote that appears in Wikipedia, but it is purported to be the words of the lyricist:
Early in the spring of 1905, my husband and I were sojourning in Elmira, New York. We contracted a deep friendship for a couple by the name of Mr. and Mrs. Doolittle—true saints of God. Mrs. Doolittle had been bedridden for nigh twenty years. Her husband was an incurable cripple who had to propel himself to and from his business in a wheel chair. Despite their afflictions, they lived happy Christian lives, bringing inspiration and comfort to all who knew them. One day while we were visiting with the Doolittles, my husband commented on their bright hopefulness and asked them for the secret of it. Mrs. Doolittle’s reply was simple: “His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.” The beauty of this simple expression of boundless faith gripped the hearts and fired the imagination of Dr. Martin and me. The hymn “His Eye Is on the Sparrow” was the outcome of that experience.[4]
INSPIRE NEWSCAST 