The backyard kingdom

Photograph by Christopher Drake

I recently read a book called "The Good and Beautiful God: Falling in Love with the God Jesus Knows." On p. 184, the author, James Bryan Smith, tells a story about how God visited him in his backyard:  

One day, in the midst of my effort to slow down and become present, I decided to take an afternoon to try to live 'deliberately,' as Henry David Thoreau put it. It was an unseasonably warm mid-February day, so I sat in an Adirondack chair in my backyard. Of course, the leaves had long ago fallen, but one bushy tree really stood out. Normally, I would never have paid much attention to this tree, and given the time of year I would not have spent more than a few minutes in the backyard. But there it was, and it had my full attention. 

After a few minutes I noticed something strange about this tree in addition to its leaves: it had lots of tiny grape-like berries. I began to wonder why it was full of berries at this time of the year. Because I had been in and out of prayer that afternoon, I turned my attention to God and asked, 'God, why is this tree full of berries?' Right on cue a little bird, the size of a finch, flew to the tree, skewered a berry and flew to a nearby bush where it dined. The Spirit whispered, 'That is why the tree is full of berries.'

It was as if the Sermon on the Mount was being preached in my backyard.

Try to slow down and connect with God today.