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A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Bishop Helen-Ann Hartley

Good morning.

Coming out of the house one morning recently I came upon a scene of great mystery. The previous evening, I had filled up a container hanging on a tree with nuts. Keeping our local bird population fed and watered has been a source of great delight in recent months, and the regular visits from a woodpecker with its emphatic tap-tap has been great fun to behold. Yet there was the container now completely empty.

Doubting even the birds’ capacity to feast at such a rate I turned my attention to the base of the nut-container, which lay on the ground. Hand on my chin, I pondered the mystery of how exactly the supposedly solid base had been loosened, whilst in the corner of my eye I saw a squirrel triumphantly nibbling on a solitary remaining nut. It looked at me for a moment, and we fixed a steely eye on one another before it dashed off high up into the tree.

I know that some of our neighbours have gone to great lengths to make their bird feeders squirrel proof using a range of deterrents such as oil to grease poles or even chilli powder, which I am reliably informed birds don’t seem to mind. I would prefer to encourage harmonious sharing of resources amongst our garden friends but I suspect this will not be a successful endeavour. My agenda may not be that which matches that of another creature, and I have to learn to live with this reality, adapt and move on. The environment I live in shapes me, and teaches me valuable lessons of patience and humour.

God give me grace this day to live and learn new lessons in life. Teach me wisdom and resolve, and acceptance when things don’t quite go to plan.

Amen.