Be still and know that He is God. Psalm 46:10

I was stopped at yet another construction zone. The light signaling us to proceed to a single lane of traffic had just turned red two cars ahead of me. The first car sneaked through but I was stuck there for a while. Hopefully, it wouldn’t be longer than five minutes.

It was raining slightly, a soft, grey drizzle which rolled down the windshield and dripped onto the hood of my Honda. The truck in front of me had Washington plates and was still running its engine while I amused myself reading the stickers decorating the back of the truck, looking for clues about the driver’s travels or interests. Most were business ads and not terribly intriguing.

We were alongside a curve of the river which was edged by tall thickets wet with rain. Spring leaves had filled out the branches so it was like looking through a dense green tunnel. Suddenly, two small yellow birds with black streaked wings flew out of the shrubs and straight past my window. Something had startled a pair off goldfinches. One bird kept flying past; the other turned back into the trees and disappeared. I looked for him but he was camouflaged too well in the yellow – green foliage.

Now it was just a small, brief incident, but it felt like gift. I always love watching birds and sighting goldfinches is a rarity. God’s beauty is all around us, but too often we’re mindful of Him only when we have to stop and be still. It reminded me of something I learned in a poetry class. A writing assignment was to begin a poem with this line, “Had I not…,” and finish out the thought. The awareness of cause and effect – and timing – is profound for I believe nothing in God’s world is coincidental. We choose to do something or not do it and eventually see that consequences do follow those choices. In my life, there are concrete benchmarks where I definitely see that my “Had I not…” allowed the Hand of God to work in that moment.

How wondrous is finding God’s Presence not only in dramatic, life changing milestones but especially in seemingly ordinary, inconsequential moments – like waiting at a red light.

Had I not stopped in late afternoon
along the river framed by spring trees
waiting for the light to change and send me home;
Had I not glanced to my left into the rain soaked trees
and fiddled with my phone, checking texts
from no one, messaging empty words,
I would have missed the flight
of two gold finches bursting from the brush,
winging toward my heart;
Had I not paused in time and space
I would have missed the gift
of knowing He is God
and thanking Him with this prayer.

The moment passed. The light turned green but as I started my car, I noticed again one of the decals on the truck ahead of me. It said, “Rainbird.” I laughed all the way home!