seeing birds...

I've had two odd "bird" encounters today...

The first was as I was walking to the train this morning (before I knew that it was going to make me very late). I was studying the clouds, and noticed one in particular, hanging separately from the others. Shaped like a dying bird (a swan, or maybe a duck), plummeting from the sky... Caught my attention, my breath, watching until the cloud finally morphed shape and joined another bank of cloud.

At lunch, just now, I was having a rather intense conversation about Jesus, and other things - big moral issues, with a coworker. She loves to pick my brain - to ask huge questions, and then hear what the questions make me think about. Today we talked about heaven, about rape, about abortion among other things. And for several minutes as we spoke, I was aware of a crow (raven? - how do you tell the difference?) sitting on a light post across the roof, watching. Eventually I glanced down, then back up, and it was gone.

This is an odd, off-kilter sort of day. Clouds with beautiful, majestic birds plummeting from the sky. A dark bird witnessing a conversation about Jesus. All of the other things I already wrote about.

And yet, as I walked back from the restaurant where I picked up lunch for myself and my coworker, all I could hear were some song lyrics...

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord
And my spirit exalts in God my Saviour
For He has looked with mercy on my lowliness
And so my name will be forever exalted
For the mighty God has done great things for me
And His mercy will reach from age to age

And holy, holy, holy is His name

(Steve Bell - The Magnificat)