You know, I think I have the best office in the whole church. Oh, there are no grand, sweeping views or bustling cityscapes to ponder, but there are some woods, a little fence, and the visitors.
Oh, I get lots of visitors! Not a single day goes by when one cardinal family or another doesn’t visit me, usually greeting me from a nearby branch. There are a number of chickadees who have popped by several times, to tilt their heads at me, and watch me work. There are several birds I see often, but shamefully, cannot name. I will have to do my homework on those.
I particularly enjoy the visits from the lizards. They are anoles, mostly, I think (there is one in particular who perches on the fence and blows big, sexy-lizard throat bubbles). Sometimes I see the occasional skink…what else…skinking through the underbrush and the leaves. It’s always a lucky day when I spot one of those–they are very shy. The squirrels come by, too, but they never stay. Far too busy gathering the pinecones and the nuts, and whatever else it is they’re digging for.
This afternoon, as another week winds down, and I turn my energy to Sunday when we all gather together again, I am blessed by this little lizard on my fence, turning colors before my eyes, and basking in the October-tempered afternoon sun. It has been a busy and sometimes stressful week. But somehow, taking the time to watch the absurd throat acrobatics of this tiny creature, who cares not one whit for any of the things that have been worrying me, I am seized with the urge to burst into laughter at my own folly.
Instead, I thank the lizard, and I take the hint…and just spend the next several minutes breathing in the lengthening light.
This was just lovely. It brought a sense of peace to me. Thank you.